Roofman Review
As a fan of Channing Tatum in Steven Soderbergh’s delightfully funny heist flick Logan Lucky, and director Derek Cianfrance’s multi-generational crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines, I was more than ready for a light-hearted crime romp from the pair about a fugitive hiding out in a Toys “R” Us.
Unfortunately, that enthusiasm seems to have been misplaced. Let me say this right now: Roofman isn’t a bad movie. If you’re reading this because you like Channing Tatum—either as Gambit or Magic Mike—Roofman won’t have you gushing to your friends, but it’s more than adequate for an impulsive, lazy Saturday watch because it’s trending on some streaming service.
Based on a true story, the film follows Tatum’s Jeffrey Manchester, a down-on-his-luck veteran who can’t quite figure out how to earn enough money to provide for his family. After politely robbing 42 McDonald’s (and to think, not one Hamburglar joke!), Jeffrey is ultimately arrested and jailed. He subsequently escapes from prison and evades capture by hiding out in a Toys “R” Us, all the while falling in love with a recently divorced employee of the store who’s also a mother of two.
The best part about this movie is the cast. Tatum’s Jeffrey (who goes by his fugitive alias Jack for most of the movie) is effortlessly charming. Whether he’s politely forcing some McDonald’s employees into a freezer or making all the women crush on him at a church’s singles brunch, he comes off as the most wholesome and lovable “violent criminal” (maybe) ever. He’s so soft, Lisa Simpson could find him sharing a cover with Corey on the latest issue of Non-Threatening Boys Magazine.
Tatum does a great job of really making you feel for him when he’s cut off from his daughter while in prison, and you really root for him as he tries to build a new life with Leigh (Kirsten Dunst) and her daughters, while also evading the cops.
Dunst also delights as the other half of this romance. The actress knows how to play a relatable struggling mom, and the ex-Mary Jane is no stranger to being the love interest. But it’s her charisma that really carries her performance, because the script doesn’t leave her character much room to do anything surprising. Dunst convincingly plays the unimpeachable moral compass; she goes to church, runs the church’s toy drive, tries to raise her daughters without a partner. She’s an easy character to empathize with. You want her to find happiness, and watching her slowly fall in love with Tatum’s Jack is easy to watch.
This film is also buoyed by a ton of great supporting performances. Peter Dinklage plays the manager of the Toys “R” Us and is also the film’s heel. He’s indifferent to his employees’ personal needs and doesn’t hesitate to fat-shame an employee if he thinks they’re the reason so many M&M’s are missing. But Dinklage isn’t the only actor delivering a better performance than this film would merit. Ben Mendelsohn, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, and Tony Revolori all leave way more of an impact than their limited screen time would suggest.
It’s a credit to Cianfrance that he got excellent performances from everyone in front of the camera. It’s also fortunate, because they do an admirable job making up for all the film’s shortcomings behind the camera.
If I wanted to be kind, I’d say this is an elevated Hallmark movie. If I wanted to be curt, I’d call Cianfrance’s screenplay and camera work rote. Roofman’s middling screenplay is one of the big reasons this movie falls short. It’s kind of like the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder of burgers—all the ingredients are there, bun, meat, cheese—but none of the flair of the Big Mac. It does nothing special and there are no curve balls. If you’ve seen more than five light-hearted crime movies in your life, you know where this story is going.
What’s worse is that the cinematography and editing is so by-the-book that it feels invisible – in a bad way. Sure, there are some fun montages of Jack playing around in the toy store, killing time, but this is a crime film featuring robberies and a prison escape. Those scenes should be thrilling, but if they were, my pulse wasn’t aware. That’s unfortunate; I know that Cianfrance is capable of delivering tense action scenes. The bank robbery scenes in The Place Beyond the Pines are kinetic and exhilarating, especially when things go wrong. In Roofman, they’re just a procedure that needs to happen quickly so we can get back to a charming two-shot of Tatum and Dunst. I understand Roofman isn’t trying to be a crime movie like The Place Beyond the Pines, but its “action” scenes would have benefited heavily from a bit of surprise and some subversion of the outcomes it clearly telegraphs. I was never fully bored during this movie, but I wish it provided me with a bit more of the thrill that usually comes from vicariously watching someone living on the other side of the law.
