Prime Time: Good Fortune (2025)

Written by, directed by, and starring Aziz Ansari, Good Fortune is a film that wants to explore the adage about money not being able to buy happiness. As you may already be aware, many people would rather "struggle" with a huge bank balance to support them than struggle through soul-sapping days of relative poverty and repetitive drudgery.

Ansari plays Arj, a young man keeping himself busy with a number of jobs. He's struggling to make ends meet, but that could all change when he lands a job with the rich and friendly Jeff (Seth Rogen). Things don't quite go to plan though, but an angel (Gabriel, played by Keanu Reevs) decides to try helping Arj by showing him how unsatisfied he would be if he had Jeff's life. Unfortunately, Arj realises that he would absolutely love to be Jeff. He doesn't want to go back to his old life, which leaves both Jeff and a now-Earthbound Gabriel stuck.

Good Fortune works best when it is giving time to the cute ideas that set up the plot beats. Gabriel is an angel who usually keeps an eye on people who are texting while driving. A hand on their shoulder at just the right time can help avoid some unpleasant accidents. The "bodyswap" sequence provides some fun. And having Keke Palmer in a supporting role is always an easy way to gain some more goodwill.

Where it doesn't quite work is in the scenes that try to highlight just how horrible and worker-unfriendly the "gig economy" is, and how everyday life can become a much more arduous experience for people who keep having to think about where they will find the money for rent, travel, etc. I couldn't help thinking that Ansari initially wanted to make more of a comment about the modern job market and gross inequality, but he seems to have then been understandably conflicted between making some important points and delivering the expected comedy. 

Ansari doesn't stretch himself too much in his main role. It feels very much like the kind of character we've seen him play in full-on hustle mode before, albeit with less at stake. Rogen is also doing familiar schtick, just an appropriately toned down version, Reeves is perfect to play a kind angel who makes a big mistake he may not be able to fix, Palmer is as delightful and welcome onscreen as she usually is, and Sandra Oh is entertaining in her small role.

Enjoyable, if unspectacular, this is certainly another success when it comes to showing Ansari being as capable behind the camera as he is in front of it. I'm not sure it's destined to be remembered a year or two from now, and the third act feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity, but I am glad that I finally got around to watching it. Maybe it's time for Ansari to move out of his comfort zone though, which would mean delivering a feature that was either a full-on comedy or a very serious drama highlighting the frequent inequalities and injustices that are everyday realities for so many people.

7/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Turning Red (2022)

Whether you view it as an analogy about being embarrassed by your parents, a tale about dealing with the trials and tribulations of starting to menstruate, or just accept that a young girl becomes a giant red panda when stressed, Turning Red is a cute and fun film that many should enjoy. Even if the third act skates very close to Teen Wolf.

Rosalie Chiang voices Meilin, a young girl who tries to do everything in a way that her mother (Sandra Oh) would approve of. But all of the good behaviour and good school grades don’t buy her any goodwill when she has the chance to see her favourite boyband in concert. That’s quite stressful and anger-inducing, and it’s not helped by the fact that Meilin now turns into a giant red panda when she gets too stressed. 

Directed by Domee Shi, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Julia Cho, this is a high-concept film that uses the central idea to explore a number of interesting and relatable themes. The transition period when you are a child dealing with changes in your body is the big one, of course, but there is also a look at the pressure parents can put on their children, as well as cycles of behaviour that can cause real harm to different generations. It isn’t just the relationship between parents and children that are the focus though. There is a look at the value of real friendship, the people who can accept you as you are, and there is a lesson about having difficult conversations long before problems start to snowball from something minor into something major.

Chiang is great in the lead role, just the right mix of cute end occasionally annoying, and Oh is equally good as the overbearing and worried mother. There may not be a load of familiar names scattered elsewhere throughout the cast list, but Wai Ching Ho and Orion Lee are both very good, playing family members with very different perspectives on the situation, and Ava Morse, Hyein Park, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan are a great trio of friends for our lead to be close to. Tristan Allerick Chen is fun as an irritant known as Tyler, and the wonderful James Hong gets to have fun in a small, but crucial, supporting role.

The animation is pretty gorgeous throughout, especially when incorporating some traditional elements that support and influence the style and nature of the tale, there are a few lively songs accompanying some key moments (although they are used to soundtrack the film, which means none of the main characters actually burst into spontaneous songs), and the third act is enjoyably thoughtful and satisfying.

Although not up there with their very best, Turning Red is a real joy, not least because it has approximately 100% more red panda content than most animated features. And that alone is enough to make it worth your time.

8/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Netflix And Chill: Catfight (2016)

All I knew about Catfight before I started watching it was that a) I had owned it for a while and b) it involved a fight between Sandra Oh and Anne Heche at some point. That's it. Surprisingly, this turned out to be a very darkly comedic film, taking a number of different fights as a way to completely change the lives of those involved.

Oh plays Veronica. She's quite happy with her life, supporting a successful husband and trying to dissuade her son from his interests in art in order for him to pursue a more successful path through higher education. Her main vice is drink. She tends to drink a bit too much when she starts on the wine, and gets a bit sloppy. This irritates her husband more than she knows, an irritation that is voiced as they are en route to a party. Heche plays Ashley, an artists who refuses to compromise her vision, even as her focus puts a strain on her relationship with her partner, Lisa (Alicia Silverstone). Ashley ends up helping out with bar service at the party Veronica is attending. The two eventually recognise one another from school days, with the conversation quickly turning into one full of barbs and vitriol. And that eventually leads to the first fight.

So, unless I am misremembering things already, there are three main fights scattered throughout Catfight, three times when characters have an opportunity to do things differently, and three times when things may change irrevocably for those involved. And this is part of the message being delivered by writer-director Onur Tukel, as well as an exploration of how people politely interact with others that they dislike, how they treat everyone around them, and how things can come undone when the illusion of civility disappears.

Starting in a fairly recognisable reality, Catfight dives further into the black comedy territory when the aftermath of the first fight is shown. From then on, it continues to get more twisted and amusing, all the way to an ending that manages to be wryly amusing, sad, and pointed all at once. Kudos to Tukel for shading the tone so subtly throughout and making the whole thing such a success, in terms of both simple entertainment and the commentary.

Oh and Heche are both very good in the lead roles, with the latter especially enjoying playing a character who is downright monstrous for most of her time onscreen (although Oh also certainly has her moments). Silverstone is very funny in her supporting role, especially in a scene that shows her receiving baby shower gifts (leading to her delivering some scathing critical comments with a sweet tone and a smile), and there are also good performances from Amy Hill, as an aunt of Oh's character, Myra Lucretia Taylor, as Oh's housekeeper, and Ariel Kavoussi, stealing a number of her scenes as the quietly-spoken assistant to Heche's character.

From the title, and from considering the potential of the premise, Catfight may seem like a wish-fulfilment kind of movie. A dream scenario, people saying what they really want to say and taking the gloves off. But that's not really a wish that anyone will want granted, and the dream can very quickly turn into a nightmare. Tukel makes that very clear. I'll be making sure to check out more from his filmography, and hope to be pleasantly surprised again.

8/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.