Catch Me If You Can

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Overall episode#297Source sheet order

Movie year20022000s

Tomatometer96%Critics’ score

Metacritic75View score

Roger Ebert3/4Original star rating

DirectorSteven SpielbergDrama / Crime

FROM THE CONVERSATION

What they said about the movie

The episode argues that Catch Me If You Can is an easy-to-rewatch, breezy con-man movie anchored by a star-making Leonardo DiCaprio performance, strong supporting work from Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken, and Spielberg craftsmanship that makes a lightly episodic story feel slick and alive. The hosts also debate whether the ending, Amy Adams subplot, and Hanks’ accent weaken the film.

Based only on this episode’s transcriptTimes approximateSpeakers were clearly identifiedExplore the connections

In this conversation

Bill Simmons

Chris Ryan

Sean Fennessey

WHY IT WORKS

What made it rewatchable

01Leo’s charming con-man performance makes the movie fun to watch even when the character is morally bad. About 8 min
02The first half-hour to hour of escalating scams and disguises is the film’s biggest pleasure. About 40 min
03Walken’s father role gives the movie emotional shape and great scene-by-scene payoff. About 32 min
04Spielberg’s production design, score, and visual polish make the movie glide despite an episodic structure. About 32 min
05The movie’s con-man mechanics and disguises are inherently rewatchable. About 40 min

WHAT DID NOT WORK

Their main criticisms

majorTom Hanks’ accent as Carl Hanratty is widely seen by the hosts as awkward or bad. About 1:20
moderateThe Amy Adams subplot feels over-the-top, odd, or underwritten to some of the hosts. About 1:36
moderateThe final 15–20 minutes lose some momentum compared with the rest of the film. About 1:28
minorThe film’s story is episodic and could arguably work better as prestige TV than as a movie. About 40 min

SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO

Standout moments

Favorite

Frank as substitute teacher

The hosts love the classroom scene where Frank convincingly improvises as a teacher.

About 40 min

Favorite

Frank becomes a Pan Am pilot

They think the pilot sequence and first flight are the film’s most irresistible stretch.

About 40 min

Favorite

Frank gives his dad the Cadillac

The Cadillac scene is praised as a great father-son payoff and a strong Walken moment.

About 48 min

Favorite

Hollywood hotel pursuit

The almost-capture in the hotel room is singled out for tense Walken/Hanks interplay and a great wallet reveal.

About 40 min

mixed

Jennifer Garner romance/family visit

They find the sequence memorable but awkward and arguably overlong or strange.

About 1:28

positive

Airport surveillance reveal

Frank noticing he is being watched at the airport is a satisfying near-bust beat.

About 1:04

positive

Christmas Eve arrest in France

The French arrest sequence is praised for its visual look and Spielberg-style staging.

About 1:44

WHERE THEY DISAGREED

The biggest debates

They partly agreed About 40 min

Is the movie better as a film or prestige TV?

Chris Ryan
It might actually work better as a prestige series because the con episodes are so enjoyable.

Bill Simmons
He loves the movie but admits the episodic structure makes the TV idea tempting.

No final agreement About 1:28

Does Amy Adams work in the Brenda subplot?

Bill Simmons
No, the performance and character feel strange, overdone, and creepy.

Sean Fennessey
The subplot is intentionally projecting Frank’s search for family, so the awkwardness may be purposeful.

They partly agreed About 1:20

Is Tom Hanks’ Carl Hanratty accent bad enough to hurt the movie?

Bill Simmons
Yes, the accent is a major misfire and he should just sound like Tom Hanks.

Sean Fennessey
It may be a deliberate dragnet-style choice, even if imperfect.

No final agreement About 1:44

Who is the bigger 21st-century movie star: Hanks, Cruise, or DiCaprio?

Chris Ryan
Cruise is the better pure movie star because he stays in his lane and delivers charisma vehicles.

Bill Simmons
Hanks has the stronger overall career and success, though Cruise has the bigger recent star persona.

Sean Fennessey
DiCaprio is the emblematic modern star who still chooses prestige directors.

12 People discussedActors, directors, writers, and producers

very favorableLeonardo DiCaprioBill Simmons: Bill and the others frame this as the movie where Leo fully becomes an adult movie star. About 8 min mixedTom HanksBill Simmons: The hosts admire his career and presence but criticize the accent and some late-career choices. About 1:20 favorableChristopher WalkenChris Ryan: They love his warm, slightly off father performance and describe it as vintage Walken. About 32 min favorableSteven SpielbergSean Fennessey: The hosts praise his craftsmanship and think the movie reflects his broader early-2000s era well. About 24 min mixedAmy AdamsBill Simmons: Bill argues she is over-the-top and that the romance subplot doesn’t fully work, while others defend her. About 1:28 favorableEllen PompeoChris Ryan: Mentioned as an appealing young actress in the movie’s supporting cast. About 40 min · medium confidence favorableJennifer GarnerSean Fennessey: Mentioned as part of the strong young-cast run and as a memorable presence. About 48 min favorableElizabeth BanksSean Fennessey: Held up as another strong early-career cast member who later became a major name. About 48 min

neutralGore VerbinskiBill Simmons: Mentioned as one of the directors who nearly made the movie before Spielberg took over. About 1:44 · medium confidence

favorableJames GandolfiniChris Ryan: The hosts think he would have been an excellent alternate choice for Carl Hanratty. About 1:44 neutralJohnny DeppSean Fennessey: Mentioned as an earlier casting possibility for Frank Abagnale Jr. About 1:44 · medium confidence neutralDustin HoffmanSean Fennessey: Mentioned as an early casting possibility for Frank that the hosts think would change the tone. About 1:44 · medium confidence

12 Conversation takesSpeakers shown only where the transcript identifies them

Bill SimmonsLiked it

Bill sees the movie as highly rewatchable because it is a fun con movie with a strong central performance.

About 40 min

Chris RyanLoved it

Frank Abagnale Jr.

Chris treats Frank as a naturally rootable bad guy and likes how the movie keeps him just sympathetic enough.

About 8 min

Sean FennesseyLoved it

Spielberg’s direction

Sean admires the film as expertly assembled and part of a major Spielberg creative phase.

About 24 min

Bill SimmonsMixed

Tom Hanks

Bill loves Hanks overall but thinks the accent is a real misfire and a weak spot in the movie.

About 1:20

Sean FennesseyLoved it

the father-dad relationship scenes

Sean thinks the movie’s emotional core is the father-son relationship and Spielberg sells it well.

About 32 min

Bill SimmonsDid not like it

Amy Adams’s Brenda

Bill thinks the Brenda subplot is strange and does not fully work, especially in the family-house scenes.

About 1:36

Chris RyanLiked it

period pieces

Chris likes the film partly as a period-piece fantasy and argues actors enjoy that world-building.

About 16 min

Bill SimmonsLoved it

the Pan Am pilot sequence

Bill loves the airplane/pilot material and thinks it’s the movie’s most effortless stretch.

About 40 min

Sean FennesseyLiked it

John Williams score

Sean likes how the score works in the film even if the opening cue sounds odd in isolation.

About 32 min

Chris RyanLoved it

con-man stories

Chris likes almost any con-man movie because the process itself is inherently entertaining.

About 48 min

Bill SimmonsMixed

Amy Adams

Bill is skeptical of Adams’ performance here, though he concedes she is a good actress in other films.

About 1:36

Chris RyanLoved it

Tom Cruise

Chris treats Cruise as the better pure movie star in the later career-stardom debate.

About 1:44

5 ThemesThe larger ideas in the discussion

Identity and performance

The movie is about costumes, uniforms, and people believing what they are told, which the hosts connect to conning and acting itself.

About 48 min

Father-son psychology

The hosts emphasize the broken-family dynamic and how Frank’s relationship with his father drives the scams.

About 32 min

Nostalgia for a less surveilled era

The film is framed as a story about a time before instant verification and modern travel/security systems.

About 32 min

Star trajectory

The episode uses the film to mark DiCaprio’s graduation from teen idol to adult movie star.

About 8 min

Spielberg adapting to the post-9/11 world

The hosts read the movie as part of Spielberg’s early-2000s response to changing American anxiety and surveillance.

About 24 min

20 Facts and referencesProduction notes and other movies mentioned

Production note

The screenplay is credited to Jeff Nathanson and based on Frank Abagnale’s 1980 autobiography, which the hosts say has been heavily debunked.

About 32 min

Production note

The film made about $352 million worldwide on a $52 million budget.

About 32 min

Production note

Janusz Kaminski shot the film after screening the Maysles brothers’ documentaries for inspiration.

About 1:44

Production note

The movie used many California locations as stand-ins for Miami, Atlanta, and other places.

About 1:44

Production note

The real Frank Abagnale Jr. appears in the movie as the French officer who arrests Frank.

About 1:44

Production note

The movie was developed through multiple studios and directors before Spielberg made it.

About 1:44

Mentioned with uncertainty

The hosts joke that the film has more sex scenes than most Spielberg movies.

About 56 min · low confidence

The Fabelmans

Used as a comparison point for Spielberg’s interest in father-son dynamics.

About 24 min

Gangs of New York

Referenced as an earlier DiCaprio/Scorsese-style prestige project and an alternate pairing.

About 8 min

The Aviator

Mentioned as another DiCaprio/Scorsese period-piece pairing and possible double feature.

About 1:44

The Departed

Used as an example of DiCaprio’s later adult-star run with great directors.

About 8 min

Inception

Referenced as a DiCaprio movie and as a film one host dislikes because of dream logic.

About 24 min

The Terminal

Used as an example of Hanks’ later accent/character-phase work.

About 32 min

Forrest Gump

Referenced in the Hanks GOAT debate and as an example of his peak era.

About 1:44

Philadelphia

Referenced in the Hanks Oscars discussion.

About 1:44

The Fabelmans

Sean again uses it in the Spielberg/family discussion.

About 24 min

True Romance

Referenced in a discussion of Christopher Walken and a motel/hotel setting.

About 1:28

Jaws

Used jokingly in a fake trivia riff about a cut sex scene.

About 56 min · low confidence

Panic Room

Referenced in the production-history discussion about earlier director involvement.

About 1:44

Vanilla Sky

Mentioned as a Cameron Crowe/Tom Cruise connection while discussing alternate casting/directing paths.

About 1:44 · medium confidence

10 Running jokes and short linesRecurring bits captured from the conversation

Season tickets for teen idols

They riff on having ‘season tickets’ for young stars like DiCaprio or Olivia Rodrigo.

About 8 min

Leo as a mysterious movie star

They repeatedly describe DiCaprio as unknowable, private, and aura-driven.

About 16 min

Checking and fake identities

The conversation keeps circling back to checks, identity documents, and whether people can fake credentials today.

About 1:28

Tom Hanks accent mockery

The hosts repeatedly imitate and criticize Hanks’ strange accent choices.

About 1:20

Con-man admiration

They keep returning to the fun of rooting for smart scammers and process-driven fraud stories.

About 48 min

Bill Simmons

“I think he's the goat.”

About 1:44

Chris Ryan

“People only know what you tell them.”

About 1:36

Bill Simmons

“Quiet down, people. My name is Mr. Abagnale.”

About 40 min

Chris Ryan

“We're here for the bank's money.”

About 1:44

Bill Simmons

“I'm the second mouse.”

About 56 min

MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT

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UNITED STATES

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WHAT TO WATCH NEXT

Movies to watch before and after.

Three movies to watch before Catch Me If You Can, and three to watch next.

Finding six movies…Three to watch first and three to watch next.

ON THE MIC

3 voices on this episode

Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables

Chris RyanThe Rewatchables

Sean FennesseyThe Rewatchables

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