Sunset Cinema: Catch Me If You Can

Catch Me If You Can at The Wharf

The Wharf's free outdoor movie series lands on a real crowd pleaser this week: Catch Me If You Can, the Spielberg film where Leonardo DiCaprio plays a teenage con artist and Tom Hanks plays the FBI agent chasing him around the world. The screen goes up right on Transit Pier, so the movie plays with the Washington Channel and bobbing boats behind it, which is about as good as a movie backdrop gets in DC. The film starts at 7:30pm on Wednesday, July 22, and the whole thing is free. No tickets, no registration. A limited batch of Adirondack chairs opens up at 7pm, first come first served, and once those are claimed it's blankets and camp chairs, so we always pack our own.

A heads up on the rating: this one is PG-13, so it's a better fit for tweens and teens than for little kids, though plenty of families just come for the pier, the sunset, and a late ice cream. You can bring food from any Wharf restaurant onto the pier, which turns the evening into dinner and a movie without the theater prices. Dogs on a leash are welcome too. The breeze coming off the water actually makes this one of the cooler places to be outside in late July, but a light layer for the kids doesn't hurt after the sun drops.

Parent Tips 💡

• ✓Come at 6:30, not 7:30. You'll catch the chair handout at 7pm, grab dinner to go from a Wharf spot, and settle in while there's still space up front.
• ✓Know the rating going in. Catch Me If You Can is PG-13 for some adult themes. Great pick for tweens and teens, less so for the under-8 crowd.
• ✓Pack a blanket even in July. The breeze off the channel cools the pier down fast once the sun sets.
• ✓Make it a full evening. The splash fountain at District Pier and the swings along the promenade burn off kid energy before the movie starts.
• ✓Stay for the walk back. The Wharf at night, with the string lights and boats, is half the fun of coming.