Catch Me If You Can (1989)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Stephen Sommers

Writer:

Stephen Sommers (writer)

Release Date:

14 October 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A Rebel. A Legend. A Romance. The Ultimate Race!

Plot:

A hotshot, teenage car racer persuades the class president of a small Minnesota high school to gamble on illegal car races to raise money for their school facing closure.

Plot Keywords:

Money | High School | Loan Shark | Organized Crime | Railway

Cast

Matt Lattanzi	...	Dylan Malone
Loryn Locklin	...	Melissa Hanson
Grant Heslov	...	Nevil
Billy Morrissette	...	Monkey
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Mr. Johnson
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Johnny Phatmun
Dan Bell	...	Manney
Jefferson Slinkard	...	Dirk
Kevin Dewey	...	Quarterback
Chad Bell	...	Stoner
Tara Trooien	...	Debutante
Rhonda L. Rubertus	...	Cheerleader
Robert Kempe	...	Band Kid
Kathryn Lamb	...	Drama Kid
Peter Breitmayer	...	Stackowski

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Minnesota, USA

Company:

Management Company Entertainment Group (MCEG)

Goofs:

Continuity: Dylan pulls into the school and as he parks he uses the shifter on the steering wheel column to park, but when he races you see him shift gears from a floor board shifter.

Soundtrack:

Blue Moon

Rev up! (spoilers)

If you can get past some of that good old fashioned 80s cheesiness (and there's plenty of it, thanks to a 'PG' rating), then you're left with what actually wasn't a bad drama. It is more like an 80s version of some of those old rebel teen speedway junkies movies complete with leather jackets and fast cars that you see in the 50s. You know, 'Rebel Without a Cause,' and all of that.

In this movie, a rather pristine high school girl tries to raise $200,000 to save her school, Cathedral High, from being shut down by the county because of lack of funds. If they get the cash, the school board will match them for the rest. Enter Dylan, a bad ass with a bad haircut who is going to help save the day. In place of detention, he is sentenced to help out with the 'fund-drive' (fundraiser for us modern Yankee blokes). Knowing that without the help of the rest of the student body, the girl isn't going to make that kind of cash from selling prom tickets or hosting bake sales. So, he convinces her to do what anyone in her situation should do: bet it all on him in a drag race. And though reluctant at first, it doesn't take but one win to get her hyped on gambling.

Only, when the duo manages to make $100,000 in a bet for double or nothing, Dylan loses the race and, consequently all of the money. Now, desperate to make it all back in a pretty serious bet with a somewhat harmless bookie called The Fat Man (Emmett Walsh), he has to try to win it all back. You should know how the story goes and what to expect. But, if you like fast cherry cars, then it's a good one to catch. I might think it better than it actually is since I saw it after immediately after watching two lame movies (The Allnighter and Ski School). So, what have you got to lose besides a hundred and six minutes (if you watch all the credits)?