WINTER 2003

LYDIA and JAN'S MIDWINTER FILM FESTIVAL

Film #2

Catch Me If You Can

Jan 25th: Sunday

In between writing late essays, doing late tests, and trying to get them to my  teachers on the last day of the marking period, I haven't had much time for movie reviews. Now that the movie isn't as fresh in my mind as it was when I saw it, I'm wondering if I should have written this first.I'll try my best to give you an accurate perspective of the movies. Unlike my father who enjoys making events and people up, I try to tell the truth. Here goes ...

"Catch Me: IF you can"

As we sit down about 15 min. late to the movie, with my dad doing his best to try and convince me that the movie guy told us all that we need to know, I realize that this is the second movie in a row with Leonardo DiCaprio in it. DiCaprio once again does a great job of playing the part of a disturbed teenager (see What's Eating Gilbert Grape? and Gangs of New York) According to the ticket guy, Frank's (DiCaprio) father has told him that in certain circumstances, it's ok and necessary to lie. 

When we come in Frank is in the midst of telling a French class that he is the new substitute and embarrassing a bully by making him read the textbook. He has awful pronunciation. This charade continues for a few weeks as we find out when Franks father, Frank Sr., and mother, who is French, are having a conference with the principal. The principal is miffed that Frank was pretending to be a teacher and that he was trying to organize a class field trip. I'm starting to like this kid. 
I like him even more when he helps a girl who is also in the office make a better forgery of a note. He tells her to fold it, because it'll look like she put it in her pocket when she got it from her mother. 

Later, Frank learns that his parents are getting a divorce. He runs away to become a fake Pan-Am co-pilot. He cashes many fake checks, to the amount of several million dollars, which catches the attention of the FBI. Towards the end of the film, Frank has gotten engaged, somehow passed the Louisiana bar exam and become a lawyer in his father-to-be's firm. The FBI catches up with him and he has to escape out a window during his engagement party. This is where the movie starts to get corny. Every time Frank and Carl (the head FBI check-fraud guy) talk or get near each other, it's Christmas Eve. At the end we find out that Carl has a daughter that he never sees because his ex-wife has custody. So Frank and Carl develop a strange father-son bond (Frank's father has died while he was on the run.) My, how cute. However the movie was good up until that point, so 
I give it an overall rating of 20 degrees.

By the way  there were only two Knock-Knock jokes in the movie.