Catch Me If You Can (December 25/02)
It probably goes without saying that, at this point in his career, Steven Spielberg has final cut. But that's not necessarily a good thing, especially when you consider that every single one of his films since 1991's Hook has been over two hours. A lot of these movies would have been seriously improved had he been forced to show them to a test audience and told which sequences were superfluous. His latest, Catch Me If You Can, is probably his worst offender thus far in terms of length; running close to two and half hours, the film would've been vastly improved had it been trimmed down to 90 minutes.
The film casts Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale Jr, a 16-year-old with an unusual talent for mimicry. In an early sequence, we see Frank step into a new classroom and convince his fellow students that he is, in fact, their new supply teacher. It's that fascination with assuming different identities that eventually leads to Frank's eventual downfall, as he winds up swindling various corporations (and even people) out of close to $5 million.
Unlike some of Spielberg's recent films, Catch Me If You Can isn't designed for anything more than escapist entertainment. There are no lofty intentions here; Spielberg's revisiting his roots, in a manner of speaking, by crafting a movie that's fun. Though there are some serious moments, the film has a breezy atmosphere that certainly helps keep boredom at bay - especially during some of the more needless sequences. DiCaprio, as Frank, gives one of his very best performances, here playing virtually the polar opposite of his character in last week's Gangs of New York. Frank is the sort of person that gives into each and every one of his whims, no matter how small or big. It's the sort of character that, in the wrong hands, could come off as smug and egotistical, but DiCaprio infuses Frank with a sense of wonder that's quite appropriate. This is a kid, essentially, who's doing things that most adults won't experience.
Equally good (if not better) is Tom Hanks as Carl Hanratty, the determined FBI man out to capture Frank. Sporting a convincing enough Boston accent, Hanks is just as charming as ever, even though he's technically playing someone we should be rooting against. The supporting cast is peppered with familiar faces, from Martin Sheen to Jennifer Garner, but it's Christopher Walken (as Frank's father) who makes the biggest impact. The core of the film is the relationship between Frank and his father, and Walken is completely convincing as this man who's happy for his son, but too proud to accept any of the benefits of his success.
But as marvelous as the cast is and though the story is quite interesting, Spielberg doesn't know when to call it quits. Catch Me If You Can is the most frustratingly overlong movie since Meet Joe Black, another film that would've been so much better had it been trimmed down to 90 minutes. Here, most of the scenes go on for a minute or two longer than they should and there are whole sequences that should have been excised. For example, Garner pops up midway through as a prostitute that seduces Frank. It's a six-minute scene that doesn't add a single thing to the film, and could have easily been removed. It's point was likely to show that Frank is doing things that most teenagers aren't, but we've already established that. It's superfluous elements like that which make Catch Me If You Can an entertaining enough way to spend two and a half hours, but with this director and this cast, it should have been so much more.
