Things Change (1988)

82% of critics liked it
(11 reviews)
69% of users liked it
(651 ratings)

Perhaps it was his collaborator Shel Silverstein who said to screenwriter David Mamet "Lighten up. Do a comedy." Whatever the case, Things Change was a welcome change of pace for Mamet, both as scenarist and director. Don Ameche also goes against his usual grain by playing a downtrodden Chicago… More Perhaps it was his collaborator Shel Silverstein who said to screenwriter David Mamet "Lighten up. Do a comedy." Whatever the case, Things Change was a welcome change of pace for Mamet, both as scenarist and director. Don Ameche also goes against his usual grain by playing a downtrodden Chicago shoeshine boy (if one can call an 80-year-old a "boy") who is arrested for a crime he didn't commit. Not having much of a future anyway, Ameche has agreed--for a hefty sum--to take the rap for a gangland rubout. Mob henchman Joe Mantegna is assigned to keep an eye on Ameche over the weekend to make sure he doesn't try to weasel out of his agreement. Mantegna has been ordered to remain in Ameche's Lake Tahoe hotel, but the young guy takes a liking to the old loser. Like Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail, Mantegna takes Ameche on one last fling around Nevada. The location photography is terrific, and Ameche even more so. One would like Things Change to be equally as good, and while it never comes up to its potential, it remains a pleasant means to while away 100 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: David Mamet
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 21, 1988 Wide
On DVD: May 2, 2000
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
clever, funny and thoughtful
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A gangster fable about keeping one's word.
James Rocchi, Netflix
David Mamet-Shel Silverstein collaboration is funny, touching and tense.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's a film that comes with a perfect shoeshine and smile underneath its ludicrous and cynical premise.

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Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

Nine years after Hal Ashby's quixotic 1979 tale of mistaken identity, Being There (with Peter Sellers as the humble gardener), Mamet followed with his take on the same subject, throwing in the Mob and its code of honor (!!!) for comic spin. Joe Mantagna is the family flunky… More
Nine years after Hal Ashby's quixotic 1979 tale of mistaken identity, Being There (with Peter Sellers as the humble gardener), Mamet followed with his take on the same subject, throwing in the Mob and its code of honor (!!!) for comic spin. Joe Mantagna is the family flunky chosen with cred enough to babysit a shoeshine boy and he's credible if underwritten. Ameche, though, is the whole film, carrying the whole piece. I thought he understood it better than Mamet pretended to ...
Pierluigi P

From the moment you watch Don Ameche's face, you instantly know this will be a humble, honest and heartwarming story. David Mamet changed his register here, in his second film. A sweet comedy with crystalline acting, writing and direction.
Anthony V

It's got that Mamet touch!

Cast

            Don Ameche as Gino

            Joe Mantegna as Jerry

            Robert Prosky as Joseph Vincent

            J.J. Johnston as Frankie

            Ricky Jay as Mr. Silver

            Mike Nussbaum as Mr. Green

            Dan Conway as Butler

            Willo Hausman as Miss Bates

            Gail Silver as Housemaid

            Len Hodera as Ramone

            Josh Conescu as Bellenza

            Merrill Holtzman as No Pals

            Adam Bitterman as Marcotti

            Steve Goldstein as Randy

            Sarah Ekhardt as Cherry

            Karen Kohlhaas as Grace

            Robert Bella
            
            Dick Cusack
            
            Vincent Guastaferro as Kenny

            Felicity Huffman
            
            William H. Macy as Billy Drake

            Natalia Nogulich
            
            Lionel Mark Smith
            
            Jack Wallace as Repair Shop Owner

            J.T. Walsh as Hotel Manager

            Scott Zigler
            
            J.J. Johnson
            
See full cast