Things Change

Things Change (1988) is a crime comedy written and directed by David Mamet — watch it online on iFILM. Don Ameche plays Gino, an old Italian shoe-shiner who is talked into confessing to a mob murder he had nothing to do with. In exchange, the outfit promises him a fishing boat. Simple deal. Wrong man.

Joe Mantegna is Jerry, the low-rung enforcer assigned to babysit Gino for the weekend before the trial. On a detour to Lake Tahoe, the two of them stumble into a case of mistaken identity: Gino is taken for a major crime boss, and suddenly both men are being treated to suites, fine dinners, and the kind of respect Jerry has never once received in his actual career. Mamet is not playing it for slapstick — the comedy comes from Gino's natural dignity, which is so convincing that no one thinks to question it. One of those films where a decent, unhurried person quietly outwits everyone around him. Stream Things Change (1988) online on iFILM.