cndiver Most of us come from families who came from the old country with practically nothing. Naturally, our grandparents worked from dawn to dusk to survive in the new land and make a better life for the kids. It was the generations that followed that caught the American disease of wanting to become a "somebody" as a substitute for the integrity of the Old World that was left behind. The paradox of this film, the paradox of achieving "the American Dream", of "building this great nation" is that after all the generations of struggle for position, money, and importance, we wake up and realize that it's all empty, that simple integrity and friendship are all that mean anything, that our fore-fathers had that in the beginning.It has been said that in order to save one's life one must loose it....

Arthur Bloom There are several goofs in this film, but none are listed in the IMDb page for this film.Most glaring is the set of scenes that involve the escape from Lake Tahoe in the hot-wired car. At the gas station, when it is obvious to the gas station owner that the two men have no money, the owner reaches in a grabs the keys, to prevent them from escaping. Where did the keys come from? They hot-wired the car, remember?Another goof is one that is pervasive in most films from this era. The "quarter in the phone" sound-effect noise of the change being dropped into the phone. Fortress phones (single-slot models) never were equipped with bells to signal insertion of the money. And why did he need to use his magic quarter to make a collect call?

Joyce Hauchart I loved this picture. Mantegna and Ameche are so opposite and I really can't share the view of other people that Ameche is performing a "Being There." Ameche is much smarter, he realizes from the start something is wrong. First he declines the offer but he knows perfectly well these people will shoot him (remember the scene with the smoking lady). Then, the movie starts, and he's in charge, and he keeps in charge, he accepts a luncheon with a Don in LA., he finds money to get back to Chicago, he uses his coin to call the Las Vegas mob.Nice, entertaining, two and a half stars. I laughed quite a bit. Must be my Italian roots.

pfanz In "Things Change" David Mamet applies his direct, unique directorial style to the classic "Being There." Each is similar thematically, and each leave the viewer with a sense of wonder and affection (for either the film or the characters), however Mamet is not quite as effective as Hal Ashby in that respect. Mamet uses his friends in many of the roles as in many of his movies, and they all fit perfectly. The cast is as strong as the writing and direction, which you know Mamet has filled with surprises. This is a movie that is entertaining and rewarding, a combination seen all too infrequently in modern films.