After running away from home at age 16, Frank Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio) successfully poses as an airplane pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer, all the while cashing millions of dollars in forged checks. When a tenacious FBI agent (Tom Hanks) picks up his trail, a lively game of cat-and-mouse ensues. Buoyed by spirited performances from both leading men, the latest from director Steven Spielberg is a crowd-pleasing romp made all the more enjoyable by the fact that it’s based on actual events. In typical fashion, Spielberg tends to pour on the schmaltz, especially in regard to Frank’s relationship with his luckless father (Christopher Walken). But even the director’s heavy hand can’t weigh down the story’s giddy exuberance, especially amid the day-glo colors of the film’s various ‘60s-era settings.

Grade: B+

Kinsey Scale: 1 (International heartthrob DiCaprio played gay, drug-addicted poets in Total Eclipse and The Basketball Diaries and Hanks donned drag in TV’s Bosom Buddies, but there’s nothing gay going on here.)

(Appeared in Q Syndicate)