Catch Me If You Can

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Entertainment: +4

Content: -1 1/2

In this Steven Spielberg crime comedy, 16-year-old Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) has a talent for forgery and a keen ability to take on different identities, which he uses to amass a fortune. He passes himself off as various professionals, including a substitute French teacher, an emergency-room physician, and a lawyer. By fraud and deception, Frank attempts to buy back the material things that his family lost when his father's business collapsed and hopes that, as a result, his parents will be reconciled. All the while, his father (Christopher Walken) struggles to pay off his debt to the IRS through honest means. Flying around the country as a fake airline copilot, Frank is tracked by no-nonsense FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks). The nationwide chase lasts for years, and they develop a relationship as Frank calls the agent each Christmas to bait him. Frank falls in love with Brenda (Amy Adams) and dupes her father (Martin Sheen) in the process. Frank's final phony occupation puts a strange twist on the story.

This film is based on the story of the true Frank Abagnale Jr., one of America's most famous con artists, who wrote a 1980 autobiography with the same title. Frank's committing felonies in an attempt to reunite his parents creates an interesting irony. From forgery to false identity, Frank's fraudulent ways are based on his recognizing that society treats people differently based on what they do for a living. He enjoys the fast life with girls at his beck and call, and he boasts of his sexual conquests. The film treats Frank's crimes as admirable and honors the criminal, but it also shows that an individual's choices and behavior have consequences and that a depraved individual is capable of heart change and transformation. Catch Me If You Can is funny and entertaining, but its casual treatment of crime, implied sexual content and brief profanity earn it a negative acceptability rating.

Preview Reviewer: Bob Nusser
Distributor: Dreamworks

Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.

Crude Language: Few (6) times - Mild 4, moderate 2

Obscene Language: Few (2) times - F-word 1, S-word 1

Profanity: Several (7) times - Exclamatory (GD 5, C 2)

Violence: None

Sex: Few implied (man shown straightening clothes after coming out of bedroom, couple in bed with noises and dresser shown shaking, man and woman shown in bed with motions)

Nudity: Once - Woman shown in underwear in bedroom

Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: Few (woman bargains with man for price of sex, adulterous affairs implied, woman jumps on man in office)

Drugs: Few times (cigarette smoking, a few bar scenes, couple drinks wine, champagne drinking at reception)

Other: Father promotes working honestly to pay off debt, son shows deep devotion to parents, adulterous relationship portrayed, lying and deception are shown as humorous, prison official seen as harsh, prayer at meal portrayed comically, man changes life and turns away from criminal activity)Father promotes working honestly to pay off debt, son shows deep devotion to parents, adulterous relationship portrayed, lying and deception are shown as humorous, prison official seen as harsh, prayer at meal portrayed comically, man changes life and turns away from criminal activity)

Running Time: 140 minutes
Intended Audience: Teens and older

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