I had trepidations about this movie for several reasons, yet I have to admit that most of those worries were assuaged by its end.  That lesson, which I often forget, is that one shouldn’t prejudge something (or someone, for that matter) on what you might expect of it (them), but just let the movie roll and wallow in the experience which it produces.  If that experience is disappointing, boring or even upsetting, just chalk it off — it’s just a movie.  But let it be what it is, and you may find that you do relate to it, perhaps more than you would guess.

Aziz Ansari’s movie blends Freaky Friday and Trading Places with It’s a Wonderful Life; that is, it borrows its bodysnatching premise from other movies but plays with it to provide what it hopes is a novel and enlightening situation.  Rather pathetic angel Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) wants to help a lost soul, so breaks the rules to show unlucky and poor laborer Arj (Aziz Ansari) that wealth would not make him happy.  He allows Arj to switch bodies with rich tech guy Jeff (Seth Rogen) for a while — but after showing Arj his future, he refuses to switch back.  Gabriel’s wings are clipped and he is banished to be a human until reality can be repaired.

I don’t care for the premise at all (my biggest trepidation) but I admire what writer-director-star Ansari eventually does with it.  This is a comedy so some silly humor is present but by and large the story is told straightforwardly and as drama, with cutting commentary on the wealth divide in our current society and why the divide is growing larger instead of smaller.  Ansari examines how wealth encourages bad behavior while the lack of it encourages social action, and how men and women respond to people who have, or don’t have, money.  He argues that conscience needs to accompany wealth, or our system will eventually collapse.  And he explores how wonderful it is to be human, to be able to enjoy luxury, yet also to know what it is to struggle and overcome.

Ultimately, this is a very serious film, but it’s presented under the guise of comedy.  I didn’t laugh very much, but I was eventually persuaded that it is an astute and occasionally meaningful glimpse at two distinct levels of existence, which truly need to bend toward each other rather than continue to separate.  The key is empathy, which the characters have to learn in hard ways, but which is necessary for mutual respect and understanding.  This is basic psychology, I suppose, but it’s nice to see made appealing and beneficial in this thoughtful movie.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  16 August 2026.