"Catch Me If You Can" 2002

“Catch Me If You Can”.

I saw this movie when it came out on Christmas Day 2002. I had seen the trailer and while I wasn’t a huge Leonardo DiCaprio fan, I loved Tom Hanks and could watch him in anything. It turned out to be an extremely pleasant way to pass a holiday night.

I love the con in this movie. No one in the movie is wholly honest with anyone else. Christopher Walken is a smooth conman who is always on the edge of making it, but is his own worst enemy. Leo, as his son, takes the cons to the next level. He is slick and smart, looking people in the eye with a cocky grin. Even Tom Hanks, as Carl Handratty is conned by Frank Jr. and then lies back to him about his personal life.

Frank Abagnale Jr. is a real person who pulled many of the real cons depicted in the movie and more that weren‘t. I love to see a true story and the way it is brought to life on the screen. The focus of the movie was Frank’s need for his father to feel successful and for his parents to be together. Every attempt is met with resistance by his father.

So begins the clever dance, Frank Jr. crisscrossing the country, staying one step ahead of Carl. But Frank needs a connection from the one person who seems to care. Every Christmas Eve, Frank knows Carl will be at his desk. Carl becomes more obsessed, Frank more creative.

I love the scene where Carl has discovered that Frank is just a kid. He has been interviewing the mother and is leaving in pursuit. His mother grabs her checkbook, ready to take care of this silliness only to discover that Frank has scammed more than a million dollars.

This movie takes me back to that quiet Christmas night, sitting in the dark with my husband and son. It is a great popcorn movie. The banter between DiCaprio and Hanks is great. Christopher Walken steals every scene he is in. Even Martin Sheen glows with a rare exuberance. It is a good movie and that’s why I have it in my library.