Best Trailers of the Decade: Catch Me If You Can (2002)

I, like many folks, am a sucker for true stories adapted to the big screen. But I don't just hand over my hard earned cash for any "based on a true story" captured on celluloid (e.g. every Disney-branded live-action sports movie). The sell has to be a damn good one and they don't get much more alluring than the trailer for Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. The movie tells the true story of teenage con-artist Frank Abagnale, Jr. played by an extremely charming Leonardo DiCaprio and the relentless pursuit of F.B.I. agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), to bring him to justice.

The trailer sets up DiCaprio's character as a smooth savant right off the bat as he charms a pretty bank teller (Elizabeth Banks!) with promises of grilled bovine; she gushes. We proceed to see DiCaprio as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer, which the copy tells us he's not qualified for because... he's still in high school!! The kid has ripped off millions of buckaroos by pulling stickers off of toy planes and putting them onto fake payroll checks. Easy money and hanging out with sexy stewardesses all day, gee the 60s were swell! We end on a cat & mouse chase carried by Bobby Darin's version of "Don't Rain On My Parade". The trailer really makes the movie look fun and interesting. And Hanks and DiCaprio are used to perfection. I dig this trailer.