Good Fortune

The first few seconds of the trailer set up Keanu Reeves as an amiable would-be angel, with epic choir and strings serving as a foil to his clearly fake wings; the music drops out as a by stander expresses incredulity. But Reeves’ character persists, stating “I’m an angel” as the iconic piano riff from Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” ring out.

This leads into an extended monologue by Reeves as an instrumental of “Praise You” serves as a perfunctory complement alongside his deadpan delivery. A second punchline at 0:29 precedes the turn of the piano riff at 0:31. Things take quite a turn however at 0:51, the energy amps up with Patrick Crowley’s “Do You Wanna Funk?”, considered a 1981 classic. It’s decidedly less popular than “Praise You”, but maintains the irreverent dance theme for this trailer’s soundtrack nonetheless. This serves to mirror the conflict between Aziz Ansari’s and Seth Rogen’s characters, where the conceit is that they swap lives, one being a gig worker, and the other a venture capitalist, in a not-too-subtle shout out to 1983’s Trading Places.

At 1:46 the addition of some plaintive chords overtop the pulsing beat adds a touch of wistfulness as we’re introduced to Keke Palmer, promising a bit of introspection amid the hilarity.

The vocals for the track finally enter at 1:55 alongside the actors’ title cards, as well as a snippet of a scene on a dance floor at 1:57 for which “Do You Wanna Funk?” could serve as a diegetic, in-world tune.

Overall, each track (and overwhelmingly Crowley, rather than Slim) serves its purpose to set the mood while ceding the spotlight to the actors’ dialogue, which takes an even-handed approach to exposition and sampling the comedy on offer. This may be eminently predictable given the casting, but arguably no less delightful, especially in Keanu’s casting as a budget-friendly guardian angel.

It’s curious that “Praise You” is underused and unceremoniously discarded in favour of a lesser-known track. Perhaps the strategy here is first to hook the audience with a familiar hit, and then let Crowley’s music carry it through while letting the dialogue shine.

Good Fortune arrives in theatres October 17th, 2025.

— Curtis Perry