I recently had an epiphany about the opening credits of Catch Me If You Can

I've always loved Catch Me If You Can, the film by Martin Scorsese Steven Spielberg. The acting is some of the finest work either Hanks or Leo have done, the story is fantastic, and the production design is stellar. And one of the best parts is the opening credits, evoking that Saul Bass, Hitchcock, Pink panther vibe that a movie set in the height of mid century modern 60s needs. However, then it goes and spoils it all by using something stupid like Coolvetica for all the credits. Really? Helvetica, the bonafide staple of the 60s, was just sitting there staring you in the face, and you went for the cheap copy, the digital pseudo-freeware ripoff? For years, this has been my least favorite thing about the film. It just seems like such a misstep in such an otherwise perfectly realized world, and it dates the piece to the 2000s, breaking the illusion of 60s aesthetics.

Recently, I was telling a friend about the movie, and as always lamenting the fake Helvetica in the credits. But then it hit me. The movie is about fakes. About the nearly perfect checks that only the master forger could make, about trickery and deceit. Of COURSE they use a cheap copy of the "right font". In fact, it's the perfect choice. The very aesthetics of the credits make themselves a metaphor for the film itself, only noticeable to those in the know, and how many movies can say they pulled off something like that? My least favorite thing about the movie might now be my most favorite thing about it.

So, next time you intend to design something with "perfect", or well measured, totally sound typography, consider whether the wrong choice might not actually be the best choice possible.