University of San Carlos

P. Del Rosario Street

Cebu City

Department of Business Administration

School of Business and Economics

A Movie Review on :

Catch Me if You Can by Steven Spielberg

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of

BA 102 A Business Ethics
9:00-10:30 – TTh – Room – GR344 2nd Semester AY 2018-2019

Submitted by:
SABANDAL, SHIMENA MAE R.

Submitted to:
MARIA ANGELITA RAMONA L. VALLES
Faculty Adviser

March 09, 2019

 MOVIE REVIEW PAPER #: 1

Name of Student: Shimena Mae R. Sabandal Date: March 09, 2019

A. GENERAL FEATURES OF THE MOVIE:

DURING THE MOVIE:

1. Who are the most important characters in the movie? Also list the names of the actors

playing these characters.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank William Abagnale. Jr.

Christopher Walken as Frank Abagnale, Sr

Nathalie Baye as Paula Abagnale

Tom Hanks as Carl Hanratty

2. What is this story about?

The story is all about a minor who successfully defrauded and conned many people around the

world. He pretended as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana

parish prosecutor. He lived a luxurious life and spent millions worth of dollars by forging checks.

The movie is based on a true story.

3. What group of people would like this movie (demographics)?

The movie is suitable for any type of audience. However, teens, students, business people, and

lawyers might be the ones most interested in it. It is a good movie for every viewer.
 AFTER THE MOVIE:

1. Did you like this movie? Why or why not?

Yes. I really liked the movie. It was very interesting and fascinating. I was amazed by how a

minor like him can fool the world just like that. Frank William Abagnale was a genius. He easily

learns things by watching movies. He was able to con other professionals by imitating what he

saw from films. Though sometimes he can be naïve given his age; he sometimes tend to overdo

things which makes the movie a bit like a comedy. Knowing that the movie was based on a true

story makes me love the characters more.

2. What rating would you give this movie?

On a scale of one to ten (1-10), I will definitely give it a ten (10).

3. What spoilers might ruin the movie for viewers if you told them about it?

Viewers must not know the professions the main character have successfully portrayed

because he as a con artist is the best part of the story. Viewers must not also learn how he did it

so that they will look forward onto it and keep their full attention on the screen.

4. All movies teach a lesson (theme/moral). What did you learn from this one?

I learned that parents are the true role models for their children. Therefore, parents should be

careful in their acts especially when their children are watching. What children sees they usually

follow. Frank Abagnale Sr.. as a father was looked up to by his only son. He was charged of tax

fraud. His son was imprisoned mainly for check fraud.

 5. What title would you give your review?

“I Think, Therefore I am”

B. SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MOVIE:

Headline: Frank William Abagnale Thinked, Therefore He Became

1. State with an introduction of the movie you have watched that you would like to express

an opinion about it. Come up with a couple of ethical details that might help the reader

understand what type of movie you are writing about. Be sure to credit the company that

published it.

The movie has shown to us the financial aspects of reality. Sometimes, defrauding people is the

easiest way to live the kind of luxury you have dreamt of. Frank William Abagnale became a

millionaire by forging checks. He used the stickers from known brands, glued them to a blank

check and cashed them. This routine, along with pretending to be the kind of professional he can

think of, made him wealthy at a young age. We all know that fraud is not a good thing to do. You

are basically stealing money from other people’s hard labor. As a teen, you can learn many good

things from school. Learning to feed yourself using someone else’s money is not one of them.

Frank William Abagnale should not have dropped from school and did what he did.

2. Summarize the plot of the story that lead to the ethical value of the movie. Where and

when did it take place? Who are the main characters that emphasized the ethical plot of

the movie? What is the story about in relation to business ethics?

The story talks about the life of Frank William Abagnale. It begins with a perfect family – sweet

parents, a lawyer father who was an awardee, a beautiful mother who is a perfect housewife; or

so we thought. His father, Frank Abagnale Sr, was guilty of tax fraud. His mother, Paula

Abagnale, was a cheater. They got poor and their family was broken and his parents got

separated. Frank William Abagnale run away from home and dropped school. He is fond of
getting stickers from various products and one day, he found himself putting them over blank

checks. He tried many times to encash these checks and eventually, he succeeded. It became his

habit until he became a millionaire. Another day he also tried to pretend to be a copilot of Pan

American Airways and he succeeded. It was then followed pretending to be a Georgia doctor and

a Louisiana Parish prosecutor. All these happened before his 19 th birthday. His family lived in

USA but he was able to pull money from many countries. Later on he was caught by an FBI

agent, Carl Hanratty. The story tells us that fraud does not bring anything good in the end. What

it brings is temporary happiness. You will eventually end up living unsatisfactory life. Our acts

are always bound by consequences that we should pay for.

3. Write about the actors/actresses and discuss who performed a good performance and who

did not.

Leonardo DiCaprio, as the main character has performed his role perfectly. He was really a

good actor. Also, Tom Hanks, being Carl Hanratty was a good actor. However, as an FBI agent

who caught such a great con artist and fraud, he should have been a scary one. But it turned out

that he was an easy person and gets easily fooled by a minor.

4. Write about what you liked and disliked in certain aspects of the movie to include the

specific details of the scenes.

It was an unforgettable scene where he transferred school after the separation of his parents and

his new classmates teased him saying he looks like a teacher, and so he played along and

pretended to be a substitute teacher which made his classmates shut up and obey him. Hw=e was

strict as a teacher and what’s more funny is that he even planned a field trip. He was able to pull

this off for two weeks. Sooner or later after that, he dropped school and pretended to be copilot,

a doctor, and a prosecutor.

What I disliked about the movie was that fact that Frank William Abagnale, after being looked

after by Carl Hanratty, still tried to go back to his fake life. He tried pretending to be a copilot

once again despite all the things that Hanratty has done for him. That made me sad. But he came

back for Hanratty and continued to work for the FBI so it’s a relief.

5. What group of people would like to watch the movie that is who would you recommend

or discourage to see the movie? What’s the MTRCB rating for the movie would you

classify (G, PG, PG-13, R, etc.)? What is your final word whether the movie is good or

bad?

If I were to suggest, I would really love students to watch the movie. It gives a lesson, and it is

also an interesting movie. I do not discourage anyone from watching this movie. It was a rated

PG for me. Anyone could be a viewer, but it is still advisable for young people to be guided

while watching. The movie is good enough and it conveys good message.

Rating system:

⃰⃰⃰ Just Fine

⃰⃰⃰ ⃰ Good

⃰⃰⃰ ⃰ ⃰ Very Interesting

⃰⃰⃰ ⃰ ⃰ ⃰ Outstanding

⃰⃰⃰ ⃰ ⃰ ⃰ ⃰ Award-Winning
Short Biography:

The name is Shimena Mae R. Sabandal, a 5th year BSA student in University of San Carlos. I

love watching movies, food trips, reading stories. I am not involved in any sports. I have no

favorite color. I have small feet, smaller than my younger sisters’.

C. REACTION/REFLECTION:

Catch Me if You Can is a movie of great lesson. I love the movie so much. I am amazed by the

main character and how genius he is. Though what he did was unethical, I looked up to him for

being wise. I have never done such thing during my age because my parents have taught me well

and I’m happy for it.

My new learnings are all found on those scenes involving frauds. But rest assured, I have no

intention of following Frank William Abagnale. I was just amazed by how gluing a logo from a

certain brand can be enough to make a forged check. I have learned many things involving

checks because of the movie.

Also, I have appreciated more of my parents for being such a good role model to me. I have

learned the value of good parenting (looking at how my parents have raised me). They may not

be a lawyer and a perfect housewife but they were a good teacher-good in terms of moral

behaviors compared to that in the movie. However, as an individual you need to strongly uphold

your values. You may have seen other people doing bad things but that does not mean you should

always follow them, regardless of who they are (parents, friend, anyone). As an individual you

have a free will. If your parents are doing it, you have the choice to take another path.