Aziz Ansari’s modern mashup of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ & ‘Trading Places’, in which he also writes, stars and directs, is a fairly likeable entertainer. In this film, Keanu Reeves plays a well-meaning low-level angel, Gabriel, who tries to work his magic into the lives of a struggling gig worker and a wealthy capitalist. The movie tries to be a commentary on the economic situation prevalent today, but the writing feels a little too half-baked to achieve that objective with any modicum of success.
Reeves as Gabriel, with a scraggly beard and unkempt hair, has an undersized pair of wings and wears a shabby raincoat, while perched atop LA’s Griffith Observatory. Gabriel, whose assignment is “texting and driving”, basically prevents collisions if someone is texting while driving. It’s a job l