‘Catch Me If You Can’ Is Still A Perfect Holiday Watch

Today marks the 15th anniversary of Steven Spielberg‘s Catch Me If You Can, or in other words, the Catch Me If You Can-niversary. The film was a massive critical and box office success, cementing Leonardo DiCaprio‘s position as a real-deal movie star. Fifteen years later, Catch Me If You Can still holds up as a holiday necessity, and it has all the suspense, comedy, and sexy drama that you need for a cold weather movie marathon.

Catch Me If You Can is based off the real story of Frank Abagnale, a con man who successfully forged millions of dollars of checks right under the FBI’s nose, all before his 19th birthday. As Abagnale (DiCaprio) swindles his way through the country, a rogue FBI detective, Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), follows the money trail in an attempt to stop Abagnale for good. Abagnale and Hanratty’s cat-and-mouse game forms the backbone of the film, but never is the chase predictable or dull. Instead, with each con, the forger and the detective get better at their respective pursuits, and it’s unclear until the film’s final moments which man will come out on top.

Let’s address the elephant in the room: yes, Catch Me If You Can is a very long movie. Clocking in at 141 minutes, the film is a solid 45 minutes longer than your average action flick (or about 20 minutes longer than your average Judd Apatow flick). However, this extra time becomes pretty inconsequential when you think about how many plot lines are crammed into the film. In his time as a con man, Frank Abagnale poses as a pilot, a doctor, a lawyer, and more. Each con functions as its own mini-movie with a beginning, middle, and end, and because these segments are so distinct, it’s impossible to get bored, no matter how long the movie is altogether.

Catch Me If You Can‘s unique position as a critical and box office darling makes it the perfect compromise for a post-holiday family movie night. Looking for an action-packed crime thriller? People jump out of planes to escape the feds in this movie. Looking for a little romance? Abagnale woos his way through the United States (and Europe), convincing nurses and legal clerks that yes, it is possible to get a medical degree so young. Looking for complicated characters with messy backstories? Hanks’ Hanratty will remind you that we all have our flaws, even supposedly morally sound FBI agents. There’s something for everyone in Catch Me If You Can, a film that will stop the endless “I’m not in the mood for that” conversation right in its tracks.

If you’re still not convinced that Catch Me If You Can is the holiday movie for you, here’s one final plug: three of the film’s most important scenes—the scenes that explore Hanratty and Abagnale’s strange relationship—take place on Christmas Eve. It’s no Elf, but we won’t blame you if you consider Catch Me If You Can a Christmas movie. After all, a Christmas movie just has to be set at Christmas, right?

Happy Catch Me If You Can-niversary to all, and to all a good movie marathon!

Stream Catch Me If You Can on HBO