Catch Me If You Can/Headscratchers

• According to "Freudian Excuse", Frank runs away because he can't bear choosing between his father or mother. Though after running, Frank spends much of his time reaching out towards his father, by writing letters or occasionally meeting with him. He never really reaches out to his mother until after he finds out his father has passed away.
  • Yes, and he was reaching out to his father specifically mainly because he viewed his financial troubles as the cause of the divorce. he kept trying to give his father money, cars, jobs, etc. to get him 'back in the game' so he could win Frank's mother back. It wasn't a matter of favoring one parent over the other, it was identifying his father as the one responsible for the divorce.
• What in the heavens happened to the whole bunch of young ladies he recruited for the stewardess internship? They weren't really going to be hired by the airline. What did he do as soon as he passed through the police? "Sorry ladies, internship was fake. My bad!" And run off as fast as he can in the opposite direction?
  • Probably he just told them to wait in line in some official-looking location and walk away confidently.
  • In real life, he bought them real tickets to Europe and they toured Europe together. He made a nice bundle passing worthless checks with them in tow, since with them along he didn't have to answer questions about where his crew was. After the tour, he was told that they would be contacted by Pan Am. Indeed they were - but not for the reason they had hoped. They took it in stride, though with some colorful comments to be sure.
• Did Brenda actually help the FBI to set up a sting at Miami international, or did they just follow her and she didn't notice?
  • Well if you're judging by the film then yes she did set him up. If you notice, Frank see's an FBI agent whisper in her ear and Brenda nods agreement. Her parents were bullies so they no doubt forced her coersion with the authorities.
    • Her parents were bullies? IIRC, they were basically the two nicest people you'd ever meet. Frank seemed to fall in love with Brenda at least partially because of how absolutely perfect and functional her family was! I don't think it's considered "bullying" for a father to persuade his daughter to help the authorities capture a wanted fugitive who's lied about every single thing he's ever said to you.
      • Her parents disowned her after she had an abortion. They ranked their own view on morality above family.
        • I would think, for a lot of people, morality WOULD trump family. Regardless, that's hardly "bullying."
      • Well, they probably threatened to disown her again. I bet they but the blame totally on her for embarrassing the family name!
      • I believe some of you have fallen victim to Deliberate Values Dissonance - disowning her for what she did may seem cruel in todays moral system, but back then it was probably considered the sensible thing to do. Thus, it's hard to judge her parents on that part. However, it may still explain and perhaps even redeem Brenda's actions quite a bit.