Fun little character study

Rating: 8/10 (16 January 2003)

This is a fun little story with three great performances. When I heard about the plot, I instantly thought of an old Tony Curtis movie THE GREAT IMPOSTOR, which is one of my all-time favorites. While this one doesn't quite have the timing or panache of that old gem, it holds up on its own terms surprizingly well.
The best thing about this film is the way two pro actors like Leo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks are used in juxtaposition to each other. I thought the combination worked very well. It was also good fun to watch Leo go from a gawky high-school teen to a "wise beyond his years" slobbish 20-yo(!). Some of Leo's scenes are a bit too posturing (like the printing press scene), but I thought the story played smoothly most of the way through. And Christopher Walken gave a nice understated performance as the old Dad, which seems to be his stock-in-trade character nowadays.
Certainly a great film to watch, which tries to catch some of the panache of the old comic classics; and almost succeeds.