Roofman Review: Channing Tatum’s Easygoing Charm Leads Derek Cianfrance’s Uneven True-Crime Dramedy
Roofman tells a story about a man who robbed over 40 McDonald’s, went to jail, escaped, and ended up living in a Toys “R” Us store for months. And all these turn out to be unbelievably actual events that took place between 1998 and 2004, where the person committed the crime named Jeffrey Allen Manchester. A story like this is ripe for a big-screen adaptation, and here, we have Channing Tatum playing the real-life serial robber with Derek Cianfrance calling the shots. The latter seems like an odd choice, given the director’s prior credits for making dramas like Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines.
But Roofman‘s crime comedy angle proves Cianfrance’s versatility in venturing out of his comfort zone for a change, even though it’s not entirely successful (more on this later). The movie begins with Jeffrey (Tatum), a former army veteran possessing nifty observational skills, who puts them to good use to rob a McDonald’s. Unlike typical robbers, Jeffrey tries his best to refrain from using violence by just locking the employees in the walk-in freezer. He even exhibits politeness at one point, telling them to put on their coats, and is even kind enough to offer his coat to the manager.
Despite the nature of his crime, there’s an inherent likability within Tatum’s easygoing charm, and kudos to Cianfrance for making good use of one of the actor’s traits in his screen presence. The lightweight earlier stretch may have been executed in a comedy style, but at the same time, Cianfrance doesn’t let it merely be played for laughs.
We see Jeffrey’s action of committing a robbery stemmed from his struggle to provide for his family. His recurring crime earns the titular nickname since his tactic consists of climbing the roofs before breaking and entering the premises from there. And it’s just a matter of time before the police manage to apprehend Jeffrey, resulting in him being sentenced to 45 years in prison.
But one day, he manages to escape before finding a place to lay low in a Toys “R” Us store located in Charlotte. This is where it gets interesting, as he makes the store his home without drawing attention to even the Toys “R” Us employees — among them includes the by-the-book store manager Mitch (Peter Dinklage) and sales associate Leigh (Kirsten Dunst). He relies primarily on Peanut M&M’s for sustenance, rigs the CCTVs, and uses baby monitors to keep an eye on the employees. After a while, he begins to develop his interest in Leigh, a hardworking single mother of two daughters, who is forced to put up with her mean manager.
Jeffrey and Leigh’s eventual get-together, where the latter isn’t aware of his real background, marks the movie’s unlikely centrepiece. Their on-screen chemistry immediately clicks from the initial meet-cute moment to the eventual dating before the two’s relationship gradually evolves to Leigh introducing him to his daughters, Dee (Kennedy Moyer) and Lindsay (Lily Collias). The latter is the sullen eldest daughter, who doesn’t seem to be pleased with her mother’s new beau, leading to Jeffrey trying his best to win her over.
As much as I admire Cianfrance’s painstaking approach to managing the relationship drama, he does it at the expense of downplaying the crime comedy elements to the point that it becomes secondary. I get that the movie wants to delve deeper by humanising Jeffrey’s arc, but I wish Cianfrance could have found the right balance between juggling the crime comedy, romance and drama. The 126-minute runtime is rather overlong, and it could have used some trimming.
A few shortcomings aside, Roofman remains watchable, thanks largely to Tatum and Dunst’s pairing along with solid supporting roles from Dinklage and LaKeith Stanfield, where the latter brings a laidback charm to his portrayal as Jeffrey’s friend and ex-army sergeant Steve.
