Catch Me If You Can

Movie Title: Catch Me If You Can
Official Website (it might still work): Catch Me If You Can
Rating (out of 10): 9
Reviewed By: Michael Stevens
Buy the: Video/DVD \| Soundtrack
The Review:

Steven Spielberg directs comedies too? The director-extraordinaire who has Schindler’s List, Jaws, the Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park series, and most recently Minority Report on his resume now tries to perfect directing a comedy, an area that has eluded him. Now I will give Mr. Spielberg credit for masterfully intertwining bits of comedy into his other works, but past attempts at comedy like 1941 and Hook were just not up to Spielberg’s usual high standards.

As to Catch Me If You Can, Spielberg teams back up with Mr. Tom Hanks (Road to Perdition) who he also worked with for Saving Private Ryan and HBO’s Band of Brothers mini series. Then throw in Leonardo DiCaprio (Gangs of New York) who made his name in the top grossing film of all-time in Titanic, and Academy Award winner Christopher Walken (America's Sweethearts) and you have an outstanding cast with more Oscars than a shop teacher has fingers. The story focuses on Frank Abagnale, Jr. (DiCaprio) whose parents Frank, Sr. (Walken) and mother Paula (Nathalie Baye) are going through a rough time that leads to a divorce when Frank, Jr. is just 16 years old. The majority of the problems stem from Frank, Sr.’s dealing with the IRS that leads to the collapse of the family’s upper-middle class lifestyle. The divorce triggers something inside Frank, Jr. that causes him to go on a worldwide crime spree where he impersonates an airline pilot, a doctor, a Secret Service agent, and finally an attorney while cashing millions of dollars worth of fraudulent checks over a period of approximately a year and a half. Soon after beginning his con artist ways, Frank has FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Hanks) on his trail. Frank soon becomes Hanratty’s elusive nemesis, and Hanratty almost catches Frank on numerous occasions. Yet there is more to the story. During the chase across the country Hanratty and Frank, Jr. begin to develop a bit of a relationship that is a lot like a father-son relationship, while Frank’s own father continues on his downhill spiral into an almost psychotic state. This Hanratty- Frank, Jr. relationship is very interesting and is what drives this picture that is as much comedy as it is drama. There is some suspense, but because the film actually starts with Frank’s extradition from France, we already know that he gets caught.

The film is ‘inspired’ by the true story of the real Frank Abagnale, Jr. who was captured in 1969, after which he then wrote a book with Stan Redding by the same title as the movie. Also in the film are Jennifer Gardner, Amy Adams, Martin Sheen (O), Brian Howe, Frank John Hughes, Mike Baldridge, Jessica Collins, Chris Ellis, and Kam Heskin.

As they say, truth is stranger than fiction, and I say more entertaining. Hollywood would be wise to pay attention to the fact that many great movies are based on real events (i.e. Titanic, A Beautiful Mind, Schindler’s List), and hardly any romantic comedies or buddy-cop films would be listed on a top 100 list of the greatest films of all-time. Catch Me If You Can is humorous throughout, but not in the normal ways. It is based more on irony and sharp wit than slapstick or funny situations. Hanks and Walken are great in the film (I think Walken should get an Oscar for his transforming performance from someone who has made it, into a hopeless man that has lost everything and is then losing his sense of reality). The only downside is that it could have used some more laughs. But, all-in-all a great film that earns nine couches out of ten.