In Steven Spielberg’s slick true‑crime caper, Catch Me If You Can, films like Catch Me If You Can sets the tone for a breezy cat‑and‑mouse about a teenage chameleon who counterfeits identities, outwits an exasperated FBI agent, and glides through 1960s glamour with jazzy confidence. The film is a biographical crime dramedy with buoyant energy, a pursuit‑driven story engine, and medium stakes that keep danger playful rather than bleak, anchored by the odd-couple magnetism between Frank Abagnale Jr and Carl Hanratty and by signature moments like airport ruses, courtroom bluffs, and bittersweet family reveals. Its rhythm mixes witty banter with procedural puzzles, its visual polish romanticises the con without endorsing harm, and its heart lingers on belonging, parental fracture, and the cost of pretending. The result is charming, propulsive, and human, with just enough bite to keep the chase honest.
To curate strong matches, we looked for capers and con‑artist stories with brisk pacing, inventive deception, and warm character focus rather than grim nihilism, so the recommendations below emphasise charm forward plotting, mentor‑pupil friction, and globe‑trotting escapes that end with consequences, not cruelty. Our picks echo the film’s tonal balance, the pursuit structure, the impostor’s performance-of-self, and the dance between detection and showmanship, and we filtered out bleak crime sagas, gore‑heavy thrillers, and cynically joyless portraits of fraud. In short, these are the titles that feel most like Catch Me If You Can in theme, rhythm, and audience fit, so when you search for films like Catch Me If You Can you land on movies that match both spirit and craft. We also flagged lighter romps and slightly darker entries so you can pick to mood without losing the core vibe.
Jump to: Top picks | Darker options | Lighthearted picks
- Tone: playful over bleak, wit over cynicism.
- Narrative engine: pursuit‑driven cons, reversals, and reveals.
- Themes: identity, reinvention, family strain, the price of pretending.
- Character dynamics: charismatic trickster vs tenacious pursuer or wary partner.
- Stakes: personal consequences that escalate without abandoning charm.
We kept an era and region mix on purpose to mirror the seed film’s global swing while staying tightly aligned to its spirit.
Smart, human capers that truly fit films like Catch Me If You Can
1) The Sting (1973)
This Oscar‑winning classic matches the seed film’s elegance and playful bravado. Two con men team up to avenge a friend by engineering an intricate long con against a ruthless kingpin. The tone is buoyant and clockwork precise with jazzy interludes that echo Spielberg’s breezy swagger. Like Frank and Carl, the mentor‑protégé push‑pull drives wit, respect, and friction. A Depression‑era Chicago backdrop gives period texture and a smoky carousel of fronts and false rooms. Emotional payoffs favour justice and fellowship over cruelty, which keeps faith with films like Catch Me If You Can. If you loved nimble reversals and charming rogues, this is a gold‑standard blueprint. Its final reveal clicks into place with a grin.
2) Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Soderbergh’s gleaming heist trades biography for ensemble fizz yet keeps the same oxygen of performance and misdirection. Danny Ocean recruits specialists to rob three Vegas casinos at once, a premise that privileges ingenuity over brutality. The tone is airy, stylish, and rhythmic, with banter replacing violence as propulsion. Frank’s improvisational flair finds a cousin in Ocean’s rehearsal‑like planning and cool detachment. Neon casinos replace Pan Am lounges, yet both worlds glamourise stagecraft and disguises. The payoff is cathartic teamwork, not nihilism, which suits seekers of films like Catch Me If You Can. If you want suave clockwork with zero grim aftertaste, this is your comfort rewatch. It makes crime feel like choreography.
3) American Hustle (2013)
This ABSCAM riff offers the same blend of truth‑tinged audacity and human mess. Small‑time grifters are forced by an overeager agent to sting politicians, which pushes masks to breaking points. The tone is flamboyant yet humane with screwball edges and needle‑drop swagger. Like Frank and Carl, the triangle of hustlers and handler becomes a push‑pull of control and grudging respect. Seventies Jersey glam stands in for 1960s airline chic yet keeps the showman’s glint. It lands with bruised affection rather than cruelty, which aligns with films like Catch Me If You Can. Fans of true‑crime caper as a secondary keyword “true‑crime caper” will feel at home. It sparkles with moral slapstick.
4) The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
A billionaire art thief toys with a brilliant investigator, turning pursuit into courtship. The premise privileges intellect, misdirection, and charisma over violence. The tone is suave and flirtatious with puzzle‑box set‑pieces and whisper‑level tension. Like Frank and Carl, hunter and quarry develop wary affection that complicates the chase. Manhattan galleries and tropical hideaways provide gloss analogous to Pan Am lounges and pilot uniforms. Emotional closure leans on choice and self‑revelation instead of punishment, which suits films like Catch Me If You Can. If you enjoyed suave game‑playing and identity performance, this scratches the same itch. It is a waltz of masks and motives.
5) Focus (2015)
A veteran grifter inducts a gifted newcomer, then fate reunites them on a bigger con. The plot foregrounds sleight‑of‑hand, misdirection, and psychology rather than muscle. The tone is breezy, good‑looking, and quick on its feet, with playful reversals. Their hot‑and‑cold dynamic mirrors Frank’s craving for recognition and the authority figure who chases or shapes him. From New Orleans crowds to Buenos Aires elites, settings offer a globe‑trotting chase sparkle. The ending focuses on trust and intimacy costs, a humane angle that aligns with films like Catch Me If You Can. If you seek a witty biopic‑adjacent mood without biography, this fits. The last reveal is cheeky yet earned.
Sharper edges, still aligned with films like Catch Me If You Can
6) The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Minghella’s adaptation explores the darkest version of the impostor fantasy. A striving mimic insinuates himself into a playboy’s life, then fakes his way across Italy. The tone is elegant but tense, replacing comedy with dread and longing. The parasitic friendship echoes Frank’s mimicry and the brittle need to be seen. Postcards, boats, and jazz bars supply a Mediterranean mirror to airline lounges and small‑town banks. Payoffs are tragic rather than restorative, so choose this when you want shadow with your shine and still crave films like Catch Me If You Can. Connoisseurs of identity‑swap drama will appreciate its sophistication. It is seduction turned existential trap.
7) The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Scorsese’s bacchanal charts a salesman who scams at industrial scale. The premise swaps forged cheques for penny stocks but keeps the rush of performance. The tone is profane, hyper, and satirical, pushing the glamour to grotesque extremes. Frank’s showman instinct rhymes with Belfort’s cult of personality and public theatre. Yachts and trading floors replace airports yet still fetishise entrances and exits. The comeuppance lands through institutions and loneliness, an echo of cost without moralising, which keeps one foot in films like Catch Me If You Can. If you want charisma cranked to eleven, this is the maximalist branch. It dazzles then indicts.
8) Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
Heller’s intimate biopic follows a struggling writer who turns to forging celebrity letters. The premise keeps the con artisanal and character first. The tone is dry, humane, and rueful, balancing laughs with ache. The central odd‑couple friendship mirrors Frank’s need for connection under the mask. Bookshops and cramped apartments supply a textured micro‑world like small banks and hotels. The ending offers accountability without cruelty, aligning squarely with films like Catch Me If You Can. If you crave empathy with your grifts, this is quietly exquisite. Its warmth sneaks up on you.
9) Inside Man (2006)
Lee’s bank‑heist puzzle is a masterclass in controlled misdirection. A detective spars with a thief whose plan anticipates every countermeasure. The tone is taut yet witty with social bite and theatrical reveals. The duel maps cleanly to Frank’s show and Hanratty’s doggedness, just sharper. Midtown Manhattan becomes a maze of uniforms and double roles that salute performance. Resolution privileges ingenuity and ethics rather than carnage, which suits films like Catch Me If You Can. Fans of cat‑and‑mouse thriller as a secondary keyword “cat‑and‑mouse thriller” will be satisfied. It is a heist that solves like a riddle.
10) The Usual Suspects (1995)
This iconic mystery treats storytelling itself as the con. A survivor recounts a job gone wrong while investigators try to map truth from theatre. The tone is moody, clever, and trickster driven with a legendary twist. Its performance‑of‑self mirrors Frank’s ability to rewrite the room with confidence. Los Angeles docks and police rooms provide a liminal stage for masks and myths. The payoff is pure reveal, which scratches the showman’s itch behind films like Catch Me If You Can. If you enjoy narrative gamesmanship, this is a darker branch. It leaves you re‑reading every scene.
Breezier romps that still capture films like Catch Me If You Can
11) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
Part memoir, part myth, this film imagines a game‑show host moonlighting as a spy. The premise makes performance the plot, not just the costume. The tone is zany yet wistful with handmade visual flourishes. Odd‑couple mentorships and fraught authority echo Frank and Carl’s chess match. TV sets and Cold War alleys give a pop‑art stage to identity play. The ending leans bittersweet rather than punitive, in step with films like Catch Me If You Can. If you like celebrity masks and unreliable memory, start here. It is a wink and a confession at once.
12) American Made (2017)
A hotshot pilot is recruited by the CIA then drifts into smuggling and creative accounting. The plot is a carousel of deals, flights, and quick lies. The tone is bouncy and sun‑bleached with danger treated as momentum, not horror. Mentor figures pull and prod like Hanratty corralling Frank. Central America airstrips and suburban hiding places mirror airports and checkbooks. Consequences land with rueful humour, which keeps it compatible with films like Catch Me If You Can. If you love reckless charm and DIY aviation, this hums. It is swagger with propellers.
13) The Informant! (2009)
A chatty executive turns whistle‑blower while hiding deceptions of his own. The premise flips the con inward as the storyteller keeps moving the target. The tone is chipper and deadpan, with voice‑over jokes chasing spreadsheets. The handler‑informant relationship mirrors Frank’s dance with a dogged authority figure. Boardrooms and cornfields stand in for banks and terminals but keep the American hustle. The payoff blends accountability and farce, allied to films like Catch Me If You Can. If you want office‑park espionage with goofy verve, this lands. It is cheerful chaos in a tie.
14) The Great Impostor (1961)
This precursor charts a serial pretender who cycles through professions with audacious calm. The premise is episodic, tracking stunts from classrooms to hospitals. The tone is jaunty and forgiving, with vintage charm and gentle satire. The performance addiction mirrors Frank’s hunger to be seen and applauded. Train stations, offices, and uniforms create modular stages for reinvention. The mood lands on wonder and wistfulness rather than punishment, squarely in films like Catch Me If You Can. If you want a classic that rhymes closely with the seed, pick this. It is the con as vaudeville.
15) A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
A gang’s diamond theft spirals into betrayals, seductions, and legal shenanigans. The premise is all about double‑crosses performed with theatrical glee. The tone is breezy and farcical with character comedy driving the set‑pieces. The crooks‑and‑civilians interplay echoes Frank’s charm offensive versus institutions. London courtrooms and flats offer a witty alternative stage to airports and motels. The ending prizes affection and foolishness over cruelty, in rhythm with films like Catch Me If You Can. If you’re chasing quick, lighthearted wins, this is ideal. It is a caper with a grin.
Conclusion — choosing by mood among films like Catch Me If You Can
For gentle charm with elegant puzzles, try The Sting or The Thomas Crown Affair, and for higher stakes without bleakness choose Inside Man or American Hustle. If you want quick, lighthearted wins that still revolve around deception and performance, start with Ocean’s Eleven or A Fish Called Wanda. When you prefer identity anxiety with sharper edges, pick The Talented Mr. Ripley or The Usual Suspects. For true‑story swagger with propulsive craft, American Made or Can You Ever Forgive Me? will scratch that itch. If you like industry satire and salesmanship as magic trick, The Informant! or The Wolf of Wall Street delivers. To dig deeper into con‑artist film language and its history, browse the British Film Institute and the American Film Institute for essays, catalogues, and curated lists. Whatever your pick, you will get ingenuity, showmanship, and a humane finish that honours the spirit of the seed.
FAQ on finding films like Catch Me If You Can that truly match
Last updated: 28 October 2025 — ratings audited, 2 titles swapped.
- Rebalanced darker options to keep tone aligned with the seed.
- Refreshed similarity blurbs for clarity and precision.
