At the heart of Good Fortune—Aziz Ansari’s new body-swap comedy starring himself, Keanu Reeves, and Seth Rogen—are watches that do more than tell time; they tell a story. The film, which hits theaters on Oct. 17, follows Arj (Ansari), a guy barely scraping by with multiple underpaying jobs, whose life collides with venture capitalist Jeff (Rogen) and the well-meaning angel Gabriel (Reeves). In a bid to show Arj that money doesn’t buy happiness, Gabriel swaps his life with Jeff’s, setting off a chaotic week of rich-and-poor, Freaky Friday-esque hijinks.

But if the plot is about swapping fortunes, the watches in the movie are about swapping personalities. They’re not just accessories. They’re extensions of the characters themselves—tiny co-stars that silently narrate ego, insecurity, aspiration, and, yes, a little mischief. As Jeff and Arj stumble through each other’s lives, the timepieces highlight who’s in control, who’s grounded, and who’s scrambling.

Cameron Barr, owner of Craft + Tailored and a longtime vintage watch dealer, served as the film’s horological advisor—and ended up playing himself on screen. He’d been sourcing timepieces for Ansari for years before the project began. Ansari had previously asked him to spec a watch for another feature—a request that gradually drew him into Hollywood consulting. Then came the surprise: Ansari and Rogen wanted him in the movie. “I had no idea this was happening,” Barr tells Robb Report. By the time he walked into the casting office, the part had already been written for him.

Selecting the watches demanded diplomacy and an encyclopedic knowledge of horology. Barr and Ansari debated every piece, weighing what it said about the wearer’s ego, their insecurities, and their taste. The film’s centerpiece is a 1978 yellow gold Rolex Daytona Ref. 6263, nicknamed Pretty Baby.

“That watch is known within the collector community as a holy grail,” Barr says. “That is definitely a marquee watch for any collection, no matter how big or small.” Over the years, Barr and Ansari have swapped vintage pieces. Ansari, known for gifting engraved watches to collaborators, wanted to bring that ritual into Good Fortune. “I think Aziz said something like, ‘Ooh, that’s a pretty baby.’ And I thought that could actually be a good nickname for the watch, and then it kind of turned into a character.”

Other pieces were equally considered. A 1978 Rolex GMT-Master “Pepsi” Ref. 1675 serves as a daily driver. Ansari’s own Seiko SKX007 swaps wrists between Jeff and Arj, marking shifts in control and fortune. “When one wears it, he’s grounded. When the other wears it, he’s trying to find his way back,” Barr says. “Even though it’s the least impressive of all the watches, it’s one of the most important—it’s a visual cue of where they are in their inner life.”

Watches on screen are no longer just wardrobe—they’re storytelling devices. Shows like Succession and Apple TV’s Your Friends & Neighbors have made it clear that viewers notice every gleam of a Richard Mille or subtle nod to an Audemars Piguet. Reddit threads dissect what’s real and what’s not, cataloging whether a timepiece is authentic, era-appropriate, or even properly worn. “All the watches in Your Friends & Neighbors are props. People notice every little detail,” Barr explains. “Audiences are so in tune with these things now that it can make or break the believability of a scene.”

Barr experienced that scrutiny firsthand. “When Your Friends & Neighbors came out, I got, like, 200 texts and DMs asking, ‘What watch was that in the pawn shop? Is it real or fake?’” he recalls. “A lot of those people weren’t collectors—they just notice the details. That’s the world we live in now.”

On Good Fortune, Barr wasn’t just consulting from afar—he was on set for every watch scene, working closely with the prop and production departments to make sure the real pieces could be used safely. “I won’t spoil it, but there was a moment with a $250,000 watch in an action sequence,” he says. “If it breaks, it’s not just the insurance—it’s whether we could replace the parts. These are artifacts of time.”

Curating Jeff’s watch box was no small task either. “It definitely wasn’t easy,” Barr says. “I’ve been a professional watch dealer for 11 years, so some parts were straightforward, but others were challenging.” The goal was to create a true collector’s drawer, not a prop box—one that reflected Jeff’s taste, style, and emotional depth. Barr curated a mix of vintage and modern Rolexes, Patek Philippes, and independents like Trilobe—pieces chosen for range, taste, and nuance.

For Barr, the experience was both surreal and affirming. “I’m a watch nerd, and suddenly I’m advising on a film that really treats watches as cultural and narrative objects,” he says. Shooting in Los Angeles added to the realism, the city’s streets and architecture serving as a cinematic backdrop rather than a disposable set. “This was made to be viewed in a theater,” he says.

Good Fortune may be a comedy with a fantasy twist, but its watches give it weight and texture. For casual viewers, they punctuate the story. But for collectors, spotting the Daytona, the Pepsi, and the Seiko in their natural context is a reward in itself.