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Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, this fantasy comedy from actor Aziz Ansari, is struggling at the box office. Several factors may account for its performance: The generic title fails to express the film's distinctive charm. Its script is often moralizing and obvious with its messages. The acting are flat and presentational, like the actors are reciting dialogue directly from the page. And, it arrives during an era marked by financial uncertainty and disparity, which may render audiences less receptive to a narrative which suggests wealthy people have every advantages while the poor have spirit.

But, this is what the movie stands out: The film is original, daring, imaginative, often funny, and undoubtedly relevant. Plus, it provides an unexpectedly great Keanu Reeves hangout movie.

Keanu Reeves as an Angel: A Familiar Portrayal

I have never regarded Reeves a strong actor. His flat speaking style and persistent look of mild concern has consistently seemed one-note, despite his wide variety of characters he's taken on over the last 40 of his career. Astute directors have cast Reeves in roles in which that rigidity fits ideally, including My Own Private Idaho to The Matrix to John Wick. Yet nearly every one of these characters required him to appear tough, distant, or removed.

In the film, the actor plays Gabriel, one minor protecting angel tasked with looking after individuals who text while behind the wheel. His entire job is remaining in their cars and gently touching their shoulders as they're close to crash, alerting them in order that the driver stop in time. But, when standing high above the city, looking down upon the mortal world similar to an alternative version of a celestial figure in the director's classic film the angel story, the character gets aspirational. Gabriel wants to be an exceptional protector and rescuer of lost souls.

The Surprising Turn: Keanu Playing a Human

So, he reveals himself to struggling handyman Arj (portrayed by the director), who is living out of a vehicle and cursing his situation. Gabriel then swaps the man with the life of extremely wealthy tech mogul Jeff (played by Seth Rogen). This point behind the exercise is for the character to realize the wealthy man's life has major drawbacks, and thankfully return to his original circumstances, similar to a character in the classic film.

Problem is, Arj immediately discovers that Jeff's issues (tedious meetings, expensive pool-heater invoice) prove negligible and easily solved with money. He also realizes how becoming affluent provides limitless opportunities for pleasurable enjoyment. The character shows zero desire in going back to his previous life, and the angel is unable to compel him to go back. Subsequently, additional trouble arrives: Because of exceeding his duties and disrupting the order of the world, Gabriel is fired from his angel role, and transformed to a mortal.

A Discovery: The Actor Smiles

Personally, I remained never persuaded by Reeves as an celestial being with grand aspirations and an intense desire to effect change. He delivers a familiar vaguely stiff acting he has been providing for no less than the past three decades. Viewing Reeves as an angel that has just turned human for the first time, on the other hand, proved to be highly entertaining, for a reason that truly astonished me initially: It's something different for the actor. Or to be precise, something from the past.

Soon into the character's confusing experience being a human, staying with Jeff (whom Gabriel had swapped into Arj's hand-to-mouth life and underemployed status), the character starts hesitantly trying out human activities like chewing and swallowing food. Then the actor grins. Genuinely, hesitantly, joyously beams. (It's far much believable than his grin shown in the poster, that appears artificially added.)

Why That Grin Is Significant

The moment truly took me aback to realize just how surprising and welcome the smile was. At what point was the last time audiences observed Keanu Reeves grin in a movie in which he was not expressing ill will, irony, or bitterness? He likely tries it somewhere in 2020's misbegotten the sequel, however I'm not going to returning to the mess to find out. The actor has remained typecast with serious, murderous, broody, or just solemn characters for such a duration that merely seeing him grin seemed like seeing a completely new performer.

As the story progresses, Gabriel ends up needing to take a kitchen job, a role that fails to provide sufficient to live on, and he starts smoking heavily due to frustration. Simply the sight of the actor in a disposable paper restaurant cap, with his recent signature long hair pulled back in an unglamorous ponytail, leaning against a wall and smoking a cigarette, proves worthy of watching. The kitchen worker getup totally alters his appearance and posture: Suddenly, the slim, well-dressed physical powerhouse of the John Wick films becomes gawky, unglamorous, and a lot increasingly relatable.

A Pleasure of Watching Reeves Loosen Up

The film isn't always enjoyable to view, especially when Ansari (that additionally wrote the screenplay) must create plausible explanations for {Ar