Film
Things Change
A Mafia comedy about mistaken identity and unlikely friendship. Gino, a humble shoe repairman, is supposed to confess to a murder he didn't commit, but gets mistaken for a crime boss instead. Jerry, the low-level mobster assigned to watch him, finds himself swept into an absurd adventure where nobody questions the charade. It's warm, funny, and surprisingly touching—a film that loves its characters even as it laughs at them.
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Miller's Crossing1990
The Coen Brothers' own Prohibition-era crime comedy with the same blend of violence and wit. Gabriel Byrne and Albert Finney navigate betrayal and loyalty through a world where nothing is quite what it seems. Dense with quotable dialogue.
But It's less generous to its characters than Things Change. Colder in tone, more cynical about human nature, and the plot can feel deliberately obscure on first watch.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle1973
A small-scale crime film about a nobody trying to survive in the Boston underworld. Robert Mitchum's weary performance captures the same dignity-in-smallness that Don Ameche brings to Gino. Unglamorous and utterly real.
But Genuinely bleak. Where Things Change finds warmth in friendship, this finds only the slow grind of a man being used up. It doesn't end well, and it means it.
GoodFellas1990
The definitive American Mafia film, with pace, style, and Henry Hill's rise and fall told with infectious energy. The Mob world that Things Change plays with comedy is rendered here in full, glittering, terrifying detail.
But Nearly three and a half hours, and relentlessly dark. It's glamour-poisoned in a way Things Change deliberately avoids. Also, it's been seen a hundred times—you know what you're getting.
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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Fortune1975
Both are confidence games where the con becomes real; both anchor themselves in the warmth between two mismatched men rather than in heist mechanics.
Nichols and May con their way through a kidnapping plot with elaborate schemes and moment-to-moment character discovery. Like Things Change, it's built on watching smart people improvise their way out of holes, with genuine affection between its leads underneath the chaos.
But Deeply weird and digressive. The plot serves character and mood rather than momentum. Some find it shapeless and self-indulgent rather than charming.
More like this (8)
Donnie Brasco1997
Al Pacino and Johnny Depp navigate the same emotional core: loyalty between two men inside a Mafia structure where trust is currency. Undercover and deeply human, it takes the friendship seriously even when surrounded by crime.
But A slow burn that asks for patience. The plot moves deliberately, and if you want action-set-pieces, you won't find them. Some find it frustratingly melancholic.
The Godfather Part II1974
Two parallel stories of rise and fall. The lower-level crime scenes, especially young Vito's early days, capture the texture of Mob life that Things Change inhabits. Operatic but rooted in character and consequence.
But It's a four-hour commitment, and it requires you've seen the first one. Even then, the sheer scope and ambition can feel overwhelming rather than intimate.
The Grifters1990
Con artists and small-time criminals trying to survive with charm and quick thinking. The same DNA as Things Change—ordinary people in dangerous situations, held together by intelligence and instinct rather than violence.
But Far darker than it looks. The ending is brutal, and the characters' motivations grow increasingly selfish as the film goes on. Less about friendship, more about using people.
Sexy Beast2001
Ben Kingsley's terrifying crime boss versus Ray Winstone's normal man trying to keep his quiet life. A film about the intrusion of violence into domesticity, with baroque energy and genuine menace underneath.
But Kingsley's performance is so unsettling it can tip into being unpleasant to watch. The film's self-conscious style—jump cuts, surreal sequences—irritates some viewers.
Once Upon a Time in America1984
Sergio Leone's meditation on Prohibition-era gangsters, friendship, and betrayal. Long, dreamlike, and achingly nostalgic. It's about what crime costs even the people it makes rich.
But Famously difficult to find in its proper cut. Deliberately slow and elliptical—it requires surrender to its rhythms. Not a conventional narrative.
Johnny Dangerously1984
A Prohibition comedy that plays Mob tropes for laughs while staying genuinely affectionate about its protagonist. Broad humor but real heart, with Joe Piscopo's decency at its center.
But The comedy is uneven. Sketch-show energy and parody humor won't land for everyone, and the film relies on that comedic register in ways Things Change avoids.
Umberto D.1952
Both center on an aging man of no importance whose dignity becomes the entire point. Both find grandeur in the ordinary.
An elderly pensioner and his dog navigate Roman streets after eviction. Neorealist and heartbreaking, it has the same dignity-in-smallness that runs through Gino's character. Ameche's old man contains echoes of this film's quiet grief.
But Nothing happens, and everything hurts. It's slow, formally austere, and ends in a way that demands you sit with it. No comfort, no jokes.
Goodnight Mommy2015
Both hinge on identity confusion and what happens when you cannot see who someone really is. One finds comedy and warmth; the other finds nightmare.
An Austrian horror film about mistaken identity and trust breaking down. What if Things Change's case of mistaken identity turned genuinely sinister? Formally inventive, shocking, a completely different use of the same premise.
But Extremely disturbing—body horror, psychological abuse, and an ending that punishes you for your assumptions. Not recommended for horror-averse viewers.
People
Cast
Don AmecheGino
Joe MantegnaJerry
Robert ProskyJoseph 'Don Giuseppe' Vincenzo
J.J. JohnstonFrankie
Ricky JayMr. Silver
Mike NussbaumMr. Green
Jack WallaceRepair Shop Owner- Dan ConwayButler
Felicity HuffmanWheel of Fortune Girl
William H. MacyBilly Drake
J.T. WalshHotel Manager
Charles StranskyScarface
Directing
- David MametDirector
Writing
- David MametWriter
- Shel SilversteinWriter
Production
- Ned DowdAssociate Producer
- Michael HausmanProducer