Good Fortune is writer, director, producer and star Aziz Ansari’s new comedy, and it’s a surprising deep-dive into the funny and serious troubles of the gig economy.
Ansari stars as Arj, a guy struggling to make enough to get by while juggling multiple jobs. When the angel Gabriel, played by the great Keanu Reeves, takes pity on him though, he sets off a disastrous series of events that only really works out for Arj. At least for a while.
“I had this idea of these two guys,” Ansari said. “One guy that’s been blessed by the last 20 years, put his money in crypto and tech and has a giant mansion in LA, and then the other guy who’s been screwed by the last 20 years and is burdened with debt, his rent went up, he lost his apartment, he lost his job, and… LA is a city where those two guys could be right next to each other in the same coffee shop, and how do you tell that story about their worlds colliding?”
I sat down with Ansari to talk about making the film, how he imagined the story, working with so many Canadians, and what the film has to say about the gig economy.
The film also stars Seth Rogen as Jeff, Sandra Oh as Martha, and Keke Palmer as Elena, and it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Good Fortune opens in theatres on October 17, 2025.
Watch the full interview above.
