Can a thief be a nice guy? Meet Roofman. Channing Tatum plays the real Jeffrey Manchester who robbed 45 McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in the roofs and herding the employees into the freezer, but without hurting them. The former Afghanistan Army Ranger was so smart, when he was finally caught and put in prison, he escaped by hiding under a delivery truck and found himself a new family.
Director and Writer Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines, HBO’s I Know This Much is True) found many of the characters from real life and cast them as themselves in this film, including the truck driver who unknowingly drove Manchester out of the prison! You get to see them at the end. Co-Writer Kirt Gunn had plenty to work with making their actions and dialogue on point.
To make it even more interesting, once he escaped, Manchester took shelter in a Toys R Us and figured out how to stay hidden for 6 months! This guy should have been an international spy! The story shifts between enjoyable to hilarious scenes of his escapades as a thief and his odyssey hiding, in somewhat plain sight, inside the Toys ‘R Us, dealing with the heartbreak of losing contact with his wife and the 3 children he adored.
Jeffrey finds dead space right on the main floor behind a bicycle display area where he assembles his living space with a bed, wrapped with Spider Man sheets and a rug. Finding something to eat was always a challenge but the store stocked bags of M & M peanut candy and baby food. It was fun to watch him try to snare the goods without being seen on security cameras. The candy keeps him going, but not without a toll on his teeth.
Jeffrey reaches out to his best friend, Steve (Lakeith Stanfield – Uncut Gems, Knives Out, Oscar nominated for Judas and the Black Messiah) who is making big money supplying new identities and the passports to. people on the run from the law. Stanfield is always good, but his character is the most underdeveloped in this script. Steve’s girlfriend Michelle, (Juno Temple) is quite the character in the scene where she tries wigs on Jeffrey for possible disguises.
Tatum had fun playing cat and mouse in a very physical role which had him climbing, running, jumping over walls and undoing the store’s tech security systems. Cinematographer Andrij Parekh had his work cut out for him chasing Tatum around outdoors, but even more detailed inside, where he took shelter. Set Decorator (Kendall Anderson) took a completely empty store space and created an authentic Toys ‘R Us store from the 80’s. The set is a wonder. The detail creating the look and vibe of the Toys ‘R Us store at that time is spot on. Remember Tickle Me Elmo, DVD games and other popular toys and T-shirts from that time? The quick cut collage created by Cianfrance and Parekh of Jeffrey roaming the store is a well-worn technique some may think overused but gave Tatum something fun to keep him busy.
What finally does him in is his attraction to church going Toys ‘R Us employee, Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a struggling single mother who asked nasty store manager Mitch (Peter Dinklage) to donate some of toys to the church Holiday Toy Drive. Ben Mendelsohn is best known as a Star Wars villain, but here he’s singing church Pastor Ron in a little more than a n oddball cameo that barely fits. Wait till you see singing Pastor Ron played by Ben Mendelssohn Jeffrey takes up the cause bringing stolen toys and falling in love with Leigh and finding a new family with her three daughters. Two accept him but the eldest, Jade (Kirana Kuic) adamantly does not. The scene where he gets her to learn how to drive is fun action well played.
But Jeffrey’s ability to remain completely invisible to the authorities becomes problematic. It’s gut wrenching to see the ups and downs Jeffrey goes through. But there a scene that proceeds some of the biggest laughs when Mitch ,(Dinklage), comes to the store, off hours, unexpectedly encountering Jeffrey sudsy and naked after washing himself and the store bathroom. Surprisingly it was the first time Dinklage laid eyes on Tatum and vice versa during the shoot. Their hysterical reactions are hysterical.
The story shifts between the enjoyable and funny scenes of his escapades as a thief and his 6 month odyssey hiding in plain sight (sort of) inside the Toys ‘R Us and the heartbreaking side of losing contact with his first family and finding love and a new family connection he knows will end.
Channing Tatum does a more than credible job tackling the taxing physical, as well as the heartfelt emotional roller coaster and hilarious situations Jeffrey created making poor choices. You can make the fun choice to play in Cianfrance’s toy store.
Filmnation 2 Hours 6 Minutes R
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