Catch Me If You Can: parents' guide
Best for ages 13 and up. Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and brief language.
A breezy, stylish crime caper that suits teens 13 and up. Loosely based on a con man's memoir, it follows a teenager who runs away when his parents split up, then poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer while cashing forged checks, with a dogged FBI agent on his trail. There is almost no violence, but he sleeps with several women in non-explicit scenes, including a call girl, and there is one f-word in a joke. His parents' divorce and his father's death give the story a sad undertow. The sexual content is the main reason for 13.
What's in it
Violence
MildVery little. FBI agents and police draw guns without firing, and a guard holds a gun to the young man's head. One hospital scene shows a boy's bloody, badly injured leg, which makes the main character retch.
Language
ModerateOne f-word, delivered as the punch line of a knock-knock joke, a couple of s-words, and several uses of damn, hell and goddamn, plus a crude word for breasts.
Sex and nudity
ModerateSex is implied several times without explicit nudity: a fling with a flight attendant ending in moans, a night bought from a call girl, and kissing in underwear. A boy learns of his mother's affair, and a young woman was disowned after an abortion.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateCharacters drink and smoke through much of the film, and his mother smokes heavily. Young people get drunk at a party, and a man is shown passed out in a bar.
Scary or intense scenes
MildLight tension from chases and close calls. The sadder moments are emotional: his parents divorce, and he learns while being flown home that his father has died, which hits him hard.
Sensitive topics
- Death of a parent
Worth talking about
Frank's lies bring him money and admiration but leave him lonely. What was he really searching for, and why is it so hard for him to stop?
On our lists
Similar picks around 13+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, Wikipedia, movieguide.org. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.