Roofman: Let Channing Tatum’s charming antics warm your cold millennial heart

Ever since Channing Tatum used his goofy charm to beguile Amanda Bynes in She’s The Man, millennials have held space in their hearts for that large, silly, handsome man. It also helps that he’s a very good actor with great comedic timing. He is easy to love. So, ever since bursting on the scene as a teen heartthrob in the mid 2000s, audiences have warmly welcomed Tatum’s star vehicles, including, but not limited to, the Magic Mike franchise, the 21 Jumpstreet movies, and his iconic but too-brief role as Gambit in Deadpool and Wolverine. Hollywood has once again tapped into the inherent magnetism of Tatum to full effect in Roofman, where he plays Jeffrey Manchester, the real-life, kind-hearted spree-robber who robbed over 50 McDonald’s in the late 90s and mid-2000s. Channing Tatum as a goofy but clever thief with a heart of gold? Consider me sat. 

When we meet Manchester he is at a low point. He has no money, he’s separated from his wife, and he can’t afford to buy his beloved daughter a bike for her birthday. He is an army veteran who is having a hard time adjusting to civilian life and finding a way to provide for his family. While chatting with his fellow army-vet friend, Steve (LaKeith Stanfield), he is reminded that he actually does have valuable skills that he can use to make a better life for himself. While in the army, Manchester had a knack for observing things most people tend to ignore. He notices small details and patterns that could allow him to break into places and avoid capture. Honestly, it’s surprising that it took him this long to consider thievery as something he would excel at. Then again, Manchester is presented to us as childlike and goofy. He has a golden-retriever quality where he just wants to please the people around him. The criminal life shouldn’t make sense for a man with such a sweet nature. 

Still, times are tough for Manchester and he decides to use his skills of observation to start breaking into McDonald’s in the surrounding area. Since his M.O. is to break into these establishments through the roof, the local media quickly dubs him the “Roofman”. They also make a point to note that the “Roofman” is always kind to the McDonald’s employees before he robs them, and even asks them to put their coats on before he locks them in the freezer while he ransacks the place. Eventually, Manchester is caught and is sentenced to 45 years in prison. Unfortunately for the prison guards, he is just as good at breaking out of places as he is at breaking in, and successfully escapes the prison in a delivery truck. After he breaks out, he takes up living in a nearby Toys “R” Us where is able to disable the CCTV recordings and live off M&Ms while staying hidden in a large bike display. 

The wild thing about this is that it all really happened – Manchester really did evade law enforcement by living in a Toys “R” Us for six months. It’s really fun to get wrapped up in these “based on true events” stories – especially when they’re done well. You can almost hear audience members muttering to themselves, “Oh my gosh, did that really happen?” Fortunately the cast in this movie really sells the more farfetched parts of this story. Kristen Dunst (perfect as always) plays Manchester’s love interest, Leigh, a Toys “R” Us employee and church-going mother of two who always tries to see the best in people and is instantly charmed by Manchester’s kind and goofy nature. Peter Dinklage is a hoot as Mitch, the store manager, who is also a dick. LaKeith Stanfield and Juno Temple also shine as Manchester’s partners in crime who try, in their own special ways, to help him get out of the country to freedom. All of these characters come together to bring a lot of heart to the story of Manchester and his myriad crimes. In particular, Manchester and Leigh’s romance is touching to watch as they both work through the mistakes of their past relationships to learn to love again. Sure, the romance is doomed, but they still come together for a brief time to grow as people and learn to become better parents to their respective children. It’s sweet to watch them try to become better people together.

Maybe another reason that this movie resonates so much is that it’s set largely in 2004. It was a time when TVs were square and the height of the summer was your grandma taking you to a Toys “R” Us to pick out a Furby. It could just be my weary millennial soul talking, but I loved being taken back to this time and remembering what it was like to be a kid in a Toys “R” Us full of endless possibilities. Even though the movie deals with some heavy adult themes (felony larceny, divorce), it still taps into the wonder of being a kid in a store full of toys. A lot of this is owed to Tatum and his natural ability to behave like a big, hulking child. He has a gift for physical comedy that is magnetic to watch. In one scene, in particular, he is caught taking a shower in the Toys “R” Us sink and runs away haphazardly, stark-naked throughout the entire store and back to his hideout. It’s shot in a single take which highlights just how dang funny Tatum is. He doesn’t even need to talk – he’s just funny awkwardly trying to evade capture. That’s movie star charisma at work right there. 

Sure, it’s easy to tell where Roofman is going from the get-go – these “based on true events” crime stories tend to follow all the same beats. That’s okay though, when you tell a tight enough story with a big enough heart. And Channing Tatum is the beating heart of this particular tale. Everyone involved came together with a lot of love to sell this story in the best way it could have been done. The true events of Jeffrey Manchester and his crime spree are pretty hard to believe, but they make for a delightful, distracting exercise in charm and nostalgia when put to film. So, as long as you have a high tolerance for seeing a lot of Channing Tatum having the time of his life in a toy store (and if not, I don’t know how to help you), Roofman is a fun, funny, and at times very moving time at the cinema. You can bring the whole family for this one. It will probably bring you closer together, just the way y’all were in 2004.

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