'Roofman' An Unhinged True Story Of Charismatic 'Catch Me If You Canner' And A Vague Struggle

Roofman, in its truest form, is the perfect example of Channing Tatum's charismatic powers. The film follows the life of a man who has found his own way of doing things and made it work for him. The film is now available to stream on Paramount+, but the question remains: Is it worth a stream? Let's find out.

What's the plot of Roofman?

Channing Tatum's Roofman is a somewhat stranger-than-fiction BOATS (Based On A True Story) movie about a real-life criminal who robbed places by cutting through their roofs. While he was pleasant to the McDonald's employees, who locked him in the freezer and lived inside a fixture in a Toys 'R' Us store after he broke out of prison, it is definitely quite the story. While it appears to be a comedy, Roofman is his most crowdpleasing effort, but one with a dark enough fringe to match his modus operandi.

Roofman is the story of a kindhearted thief?

Roofman is a heist movie, following 'Jeffrey Manchester' (Tatum) as the case man, the guy who scopes out the setting of the prospective crime, crafting a plan that exploits the trivial details of routines, like when the bank has the most cash, where the security cameras' blind spots are, and the routines of security guards. We meet 'Jeffrey' during his heist at McDonald's. He robs them, then kindly ushers them into the walk-in freezer, making sure they have their coats on first so they don't get too cold. 

Despite being a crook, he is extremely friendly with the employees and even offers his own jacket to the McD's manager, who didn't have one. While his actions are wrong, they stem from desperation as he couldn't afford his daughter's birthday gift. 'Jeffrey' is struggling after a stint in the military. However, it is oddly vague as the audience can't pinpoint whether he can't find a job or doesn't want one. Nonetheless, he's smart and wants to do right by his wife and three kids.

'Jeffrey' often wonders how many Mickey D's he'll have to bust into before he can provide a decent life for them. The answer, "turns out, is 45," Jeffrey says in voiceover, and then the film cuts to TV-news reports about a serial robber who's "terrorizing" his North Carolina community. While he gets the bike for his daughter, he is caught by the cops while running with a pink feather boa flapping around his neck and is sentenced to 45 years, leading to our next subplot point.

'Jeffrey' breaks out of the prison

45 years is apparently too long, which leads 'Jeffrey' to smuggle himself out via the undercarriage of a semi-truck. He sits on the street watching his daughter ride her bike from afar as a cop monitors her. He tries not to act suspiciously as he walks the streets, eventually hustling into a Toys 'R' Us after a cop spots him. He enters the men's room, climbs up into the ceiling, and waits it out. He sneaks out to the manager's office at night, figures out how to stop the cameras from recording, and eventually finds a big hollow display fixture where he tosses a couple of crib mattresses and a big stuffed Spider-Man so he's not lonely.

After a few days of existing on peanut M&Ms, he rigs up his own security system with baby monitors. It's the perfect place to hide for six months while he waits for his military buddy, 'Steve' (LaKeith Stanfield), to get back into town and help him get a fake passport so he can skip the country. 'Jeffrey' spends his time observing the employees and soon concludes that the manager, 'Mitch', is a human butt who asserts 'authorit-ahh' and slathers condescension upon his employees, one of whom is 'Leigh', whom 'Mitch' refuses to donate to her church's charity toy drive.

'Jeffery' falls in love and frustration

'Jeffrey' takes matters into his own hands and steals some toys and a bike, and rides over to make a donation. There, he meets a woman who's obviously soothed by the sight of a tall, handsome, witty gentleman, and invites him to attend a deeply cheesy service. And as one would guess, he's paired up with 'Leigh', single, recently divorced, smiling, with a twinkle in her eye. The service leads 'Jeffrey' to attend a "singles brunch" and to go on a date with 'Leigh'. They sleep together, he charms her daughters, makes up a secret job he can't talk about, and six months later, he's falling in love and playing with fire. 

The film is very much a Tatum-and-Dunst effort, as their interactions give the movie the oomph it needs, so it's not just a what's-this-crazy-guy-gonna-do-next saga. While a part of us hopes the crazy guy can figure out a way to make the love story portion of this crime story functionally happily-ever-after, another part of us wants to see him pony up the metaphorical chunk of flesh for inflicting trauma on so many people via his selfish actions. 'Leigh' doesn't only give the film some moral grounding, she is no 'Bonnie' to 'Jeffrey's' 'Clyde'. However, her role in the film does unlock some of the story's deeper emotional conflicts.

Is Roofman worth watching?

Roofman is a true entertainer. However, Derek Cianfrance and Kirt Gunn's screenplay is admittedly a little thin. Supporting players Stanfield, Dinklage, Juno Temple, and Ben Mendelsohn are grossly underused. The director also tends to flatten the tone toward generic accessibility, to even out the 'Jeffrey' character's tendencies toward extreme sentimentality and outrageous, compulsive behavior. 

Roofman is not a 'Jekyll-and-Hyde' story, despite its gently artsy visual approach, with handheld cameras and gritty, realistic, middle-class suburban settings. To conclude, Channing Tatum and Kristen Dunst significantly elevate the film. It explores desperation and consumerism, showing 'Jeffrey' learning that presence matters more than presents. So, if you're looking for a weirdly wired heist film, this just might be it.

What are your thoughts on the Roofman? Let us know.

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