Rating: PG
Genre:
Crime
Theatrical Release: 10/21/1988(USA)
Release Date: 05/02/2000
SubTitles: English/Espanol
Dubbed: English/Espanol
Sound: 5.1/1
Run Time: 100 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language
Distributor/Studio: Columbia TriStar
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, All Movie Guide
;)
