Unimportant, inconsequential, and just plain fun!

Rating: Null/10 (26 December 2002)

To be honest, there is nothing extraordinary about "Catch Me If You Can," Steven Spielberg's latest film. Everything is good, and very little is great. Even if the posters and trailers (and even the opening credits) hadn't told us this was based on a true story, we would know. This is a tale far too clever for any Hollywood screenwriter to conjure, but we know that, even without the "BASED ON A TRUE STORY" that pops up on the screen after the opening sequence. Here is a film that will be big at the box office for a month or so, then pass out of our consciousness for a few months, until it is released on DVD, where it will linger for a few months longer, and then once again pass out of consciousness. It's not a very memorable experience, but in spite of all of that, it's darn good fun.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale, Jr. a young con artist who in essence changes identities every few months, forges a load of bad checks, and makes the girls swoon at nearly every turn. We see him go from substitute teacher to pilot to doctor to lawyer, with such ease that it is pure delight to watch. Then we have the nemesis, Carl Hanratty, played by the always wonderful Tom Hanks, whose indistinct accent make the actual pronunciation of his name as mysterious as where Frank Jr. will be heading next. Hanks is delightful, and doesn't steal any scenes from the obvious star, DiCaprio. Hanratty is an FBI officer, middle management in charge of bank fraud, and once he gets wind of this Abagnale fellow, we know that they will become enemies, and probably friends in the way we know and love, and have seen a thousand times before. Christopher Walken plays Frank Abagnale, Sr., Dicaprio's father. Walken's character is down on his luck - in about ten minutes of screen time, he loses his car, his business, his wife (Nathalie Baye), and his son. It was a wise decision for Spielberg to not treat Frank Sr. as a main character, because he is not. This is the story of Frank Jr. and Hanratty, and is treated so.
The one thing that was still in my mind as I left the theater, though, was John Williams' score. Being somewhat of a music enthusiast, I can always appreciate the oddball 7/8 saxophone trio, which is something you don't see much in movie music. Williams is probably the most famous of all film composers, and here I think we have his best work in years. Overall, this film seems like it could have been done by any other director, and I was still a little in the dark as to why Spielberg chose this film to follow up his miraculous "Minority Report," but I saw little glimpses of genius in several shots. Consider the FBI office shot near the end of the film, and notice how any other director would surely angle the camera more at eye level, than the low angle used by Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (also of "Minority Report"). It makes for a far more interesting shot, and there are a host of them throughout the film. One thing Spielberg has a gift for is showing us something that we may not totally understand, but will always want to look at.
I find it best to not think of "Catch Me If You Can" as a follow-up to Spielberg's masterpiece, "Minority Report," because it's not. This film isn't an exercise in character or style or anything else. You can't analyze this film, because there's really not much to see. It's a solid 140 minutes of entertainment, is always fun, and will definitely leave a smile on your face. Now, I think it's time for Spielberg to get back to work.
Three stars, out of four.