Play Book Tag discussion

I loved the movie Catch me if you Can, so I wanted to learn more about the story. The book definitely held my interest, but it was all about the crimes and the chase. The movie had more heart. I'm giving the book 3-3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.

Catch me if you can is the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr, who was a teenage con artist in the 1960's -1970's. His story is really hard to believe, but his crimes have all been well documented. He pretended to be an airline pilot, a lawyer, a doctor, a teacher, and impersonated many others along the way. He didn't fly any planes, but he got lots of free flights, and he used the uniform to earn the trust of his marks and turn the heads of the girls he'd get to inadvertently help him. He actually did pass the bar exam after three tries (with a little help), and he earned money as a Doctor and a part time Sociology instructor.

He bilked banks and others out of millions through phony checks. He was very innovative in coming up with new ways to steal, and get around security safeguards. The book includes his time in a hell hole of a French jail, and a comfortable Swedish jail. Most of the humor in the book comes from the outlandish ways he managed to get out of trouble, get out of jail, and get people to do things for him. He's so cocky and unlikable by the end of the book, I was rooting for the FBI agent to catch him soon.

Frank is much more likable in the movie, which includes a lot more of his family, and the FBI agent who is chasing him (renamed Hanratty in the film). The movie shows Frank eventually working for the FBI to help them catch check frauds, but non of that is described in the book.

I loved this movie and enjoyed the book.

I did find this.

When the film came out, Abagnale posted a message on his website acknowledging that it would probably have some exaggerations—because so did the book it was based on. The memoir's co-author, Stan Redding, interviewed Abagnale "about four times" and "did a great job of telling the story, but he also over-dramatized and exaggerated some of [it]." "He was just telling a story and not writing my biography," Abagnale said, and the book had a disclaimer indicating as much. Abagnale wrote that he was "honored" to have Spielberg, DiCaprio, and Hanks make a film inspired by his life, but added, "It is important to understand that it is just a movie ... not a biographical documentary." Still, he later told an interviewer that the movie and subsequent stage musical based on it were "about 80 percent accurate."

Thanks Jason. I really liked the parts in the movie with the phone conversations he had with Hanratty, and I wonder if any of that actually happened. Also, in the movie, he was engaged to marry Brenda, but in the book, she was just one of many.

I saw Frank speak years ago, and he was BEYOND entertaining. What a great choice for the comedy tag! I also loved the movie, so might have to give the book a try at some point.