Steven Spielberg’s only made a few full-blown comedies over the years, and his first successful one came over two decades after the first one failed to earn critical raves. Spielberg stands out among his peers as one of the most celebrated directors in cinematic history. Over the last fifty years, he’s proven capable of jumping from genre to genre with ease. Spielberg seems just as at home in big-scale action movies and riveting historical dramas as he is with tense monster movies and heartwarming family films.

One genre that proved deceptively tricky for the filmmaker though was comedy. Although many of his films have comedic elements, the director has really only made a few movies that could be outright called comedies. The first one, coming amid some of Spielberg’s best movies, failed to impress critics at the time. It would take over twenty years for the filmmaker to return to that genre, and it proved to be a far more popular movie. Here’s how Spielberg bounced back from a critical bomb in 1979 to make one of his most entertaining films in 2002.

1941 Was Steven Spielberg’s First Attempt At A Comedy Movie

How A Blockbuster Comedy Proved Too Tricky For A Young Spielberg

1941 was Steven Spielberg’s earliest attempt at making comedy was an infamous critical bomb, with the prolific director needing two more decades before he could nail the genre. Starring Nancy Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Lee, Tim Matheson, and Mickey Rourke, 1941 focuses on the soldiers and citizens of Los Angeles as they deal with a potential follow-up attack to Pearl Harbor. Despite the subject matter (based on real events) led other directors like Stanley Kubrick and Robert Zemeckis to considering the material dramatic, Spielberg’s approach leaned heavily into slapstick and goofball comedy.

Although the film was ultimately a financial success at the box office — earning over $94 million against a $35 million budget — critics felt that the film was a disappointment. The film currently has a 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critical consensus arguing that the comedy was weighed down by an unwieldy story and pointless spectacle. Spielberg’s next film, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, was far better received and helped ensure that 1941 was just an unfortunate blip in Spielberg’s career trajectory. However, it wouldn’t be his only comedy.

Steven Spielberg Nailed Comedy In Catch Me If You Can

Catch Me If You Can Is One Of The Director’s Most Entertaining Movies In The 21st Century

Over two decades after 1941 failed to connect with critics, Spielberg returned to the comedy genre with Catch Me If You Can. The film starred Leonardo DiCaprio as con man Frank Abagnale Jr. and Tom Hanks as Carl Hanratty, an FBI Agent who spends years chasing after him. A stylish and fast-paced comedy, Catch Me If You Can retains some dramatic character beats but is nevertheless a charming and overall fun film. It was an early showcase of DiCaprio’s comedic capabilities, something the typically dramatic actor would later utilize in films like Wolf of Wall Street.

The dialogue-heavy film benefits from a whip-smart cast, while Spielberg keeps things moving at an exciting pace. Spielberg also showcases a more deft hand at comedy than he did in 1941, which suffers from too frequently going too broad. In Catch Me If You Can, the visual gags have a clear panache that Spielberg had honed over the course of his career. Catch Me If You Can was a box office hit and a critical darling, earning a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and is now considered one of the highlights in Spielberg’s 21st century output.

Has Steven Spielberg Made Any Other Comedy Movies?

The Terminal Is A Character Drama Fused With A Comedic Set-Up

One of the things that Spielberg has always excelled at is experimenting with the genre. The director’s filmography has severely different types of films, with that inherent flexibility often bleeding through to his other works. However, while many of his films may have comedic elements, he’s only ever made three full-blown comedies. Since Catch Me If You Can, Spielberg has made over a dozen movies, only one of which could be said to be a comedy: The Terminal.

Reuniting Spielberg with Catch Me If You Can star Tom Hanks, the dramedy focuses on an Eastern European man who ends up stuck in an airport. However, it lacks the strong script of Catch Me If You Can, and is more of a character drama amid an inherently comedic premise. The director has since focused on dramas like War Horse and The Post or more varied films like the animated The Adventures of Tin Tin or the musical remake of West Side Story. However, the strength of Catch Me If You Can proves Steven Spielberg can nail a comedy when he wants to.