An angel comedy worth praising for.

Aziz Ansari has made a name for himself in the comedy world with his stand-up comedy and roles on shows like “Parks and Recreation” and “Master of None,” and movies like “Observe and Report” and “Get Him to the Greek.” His directorial debut of “Good Fortune” feels like a cross between “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “Trading Places,” as it deals with guardian angels and a rich and poor switcheroo. Except this isn’t a Christmas movie. It’s rather a representation on life and the economy,-about how some people have less than minimum wage jobs and struggle to find the joys and serenities in their lives.

Ansari plays a task servant and would-be documentary editor named Arj, who has the worst luck in succeeding in life. He sleeps in his car with many parking tickets, immediately gets fired by a business investor named Jeff (Seth Rogen), and the only good thing in his life is a hardware store employee named Elena (Keke Palmer).

Then, comes Keanu Reeves as a guardian angel named Gabriel, who goal is to save people from texting and driving. All he does is tap on their shoulders, and they immediately hit the brakes. He wants to be the ideal guardian angel-the one who can save lost souls, but Martha from Angel Management (Sandra Oh) tells him that finding a lost soul is a challenge. I’m surprised she didn’t say: “Not everybody can be Clarence.” He’s actually what the film would call: “a budget guardian angel.”

One day, after Arj loses all hope, Gabriel breaks the rules and makes contact with him. He manages to switch Arj’s life with Jeff’s. But problems emerge, as Jeff now knows Arj has stolen his life, and Martha strips Gabriel of his wings. So, since Arj is too busy being rich, Jeff and Gabriel struggle with their newfound odd jobs. This is when I really think “Good Fortune” is going for that “Trading Places” approach. I would suggest “The Prince and the Pauper,” but that’s only for lookalikes, and maybe Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler movies.

I try to avoid talking about politics in my reviews or my Instagram page, but I do acknowledge that the economy needs to be better, and that delivery people and employees are humans, too. In fact, there’s a small subplot when new robots are poised to take over the delivery businesses, which continues to make me stressed about the future of A.I. (remember: I have a strict NO A.I. policy on my work). But this is a smaller matter than how “Tron: Ares” or “M3GAN 2.0” displayed the subject matter.

“Good Fortune” is funny and open-minded about the economy and how it differentiates between rich and poor and happiness and luxury. Ansari delivers with the right notion in front of and behind the camera, and he also casts Rogen and Reeves with honesty and poetic values. There are times when we can identify with the leading character through his struggles, and there are times when we acknowledge that there can be more to life than what the rich posses.

At one point late in the movie, Elena expresses her struggles with her job and how she and the other workers get the short end of the stick. And I think it should have explored more on her side, especially since Palmer has the voice and spirit to express these themes. But at the very least, she’s able to have her scenes with Ansari, and they be easy or difficult, depending on what life throws at them. Or what his selfish decisions throws at them to be exact.

I enjoyed “Good Fortune” for the genres and themes it wants to express, and there are a number of funny scenes. I must admit it’s been a while since I’ve seen Ansari in a movie, but it’s nice to see him again.