Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Episode 124 (August 9, 2024)

Tom Hanks chases Leonardo DiCaprio in one of the most fun cat-and-mouse chase thrillers of all time! And it’s all “inspired” by a true story! As the tagline says, it’s “a true story of a real fraud.” Okay. So how true is it? Well, we looked into it and……. Guys, what we found out is depressing.

Frank Abagnale didn’t do any of the things he claimed he did in his book. You know, the things that are interesting, the things you’re here for. He didn’t pretend to be a lawyer or a doctor, he didn’t forge millions of dollars of checks, he didn’t travel the world as a fake pilot. Indeed, when his book was published in 1980, reporters who bothered doing even the tiniest amount of due diligence were able to debunk his claims. Skeptical reporting has followed Abagnale his entire career. It hasn’t mattered. His story is more fun.

Does that affect the way we view the movie? You’ll have to listen to find out.

Catch Me If You Can Podcast

Time stamps:
02:18 — Our personal histories with Catch Me If You Can and our big-picture thoughts on the movie
12:08 — History segment: The REAL Frank Abagnale, and how he never did any of the things his book (and Spielberg’s movie) show him doing; how the movie nevertheless was developed and ended up the way it did
50:40 — In-depth movie discussion
1:48:59 — Final thoughts and star ratings

Artwork by Laci Roth.

Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:
“Summer of Spielberg” – https://youtu.be/yglAqqLEaoI
“Winston-Salem” – https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM
“Snake Drama” – https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg
“The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet” – https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ

“Summer of Spielberg” theme song credits:
Words and music written by Matt Stokes
Performed by Wade Hymel (drums/guitar), Laci Roth (vocals), and Matt Stokes (vocals/guitar/bass)
Produced by TJ Barends, Wade Hymel, and Matt Stokes
Engineered and mixed by TJ Barends at Bare Sounds Studio in Ponchatoula, Louisiana

Sources:
The Greatest Hoax on Earth: Catching Truth, While We Can by Alan C. Logan – https://amzn.to/4fCIoVN
“Did Steven Spielberg Get His Start by Sneaking Into an Empty Universal Studios Office?” by David Mikkelson | Snopes.com (2003) – https://bit.ly/3YVmTdh
“This ‘Fabelman’s’ Tall Tale: When Steven Spielberg Stole A Universal Office” | Hollywood Outbreak (2022) – https://bit.ly/3AiILoz