Things Change (1988)

Synopsis: Predicated on the observation that an old Sicilian shoeshine man looks pretty much the same as an old Sicilian mafia don, THINGS CHANGE finds comedy and pathos in a case of very mistaken identity.... Predicated on the observation that an old Sicilian shoeshine man looks pretty much the same as an old Sicilian mafia don, THINGS CHANGE finds comedy and pathos in a case of very mistaken identity. Italian-American acting legend Don Ameche plays Gino, a man with a simple life who is recruited by an underworld boss to take the rap for a murder. Jerry (Joe Mantegna) is assigned to sit on Gino until he goes to confess, and he feels compelled to offer the quiet old man one last good time--in Lake Tahoe, where everyone mistakes Gino for a mob big shot. Soon the pair are getting the royal treatment, while Gino's shoeshine-shop wisdom keeps everyone fooled into thinking he's a powerful man with a humble demeanor. Director David Mamet gets laughs the hard way, developing characters and setting up believably comic situations for them to interact in, even as he lets the tension regarding Gino's fate mount. He also indulges the taste for hoaxes that he explored more seriously in HOUSE OF GAMES and THE SPANISH PRISONER. Behind it all is Ameche, who plays every scene close to the vest and steals the show anyway. [More]

Starring: Don Ameche, Joe Mantegna, J.J. Johnson, Robert Prosky

Starring: Don Ameche, Joe Mantegna, J.J. Johnson, Robert Prosky

Director: David Mamet

Director: David Mamet

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