Roofman

Based on true events, Channing Tatum stars as former soldier turned thief Jeffrey Manchester who robbed over 40 McDonald's before being sent to prison only to escape and hide out for months inside a Toys"R"Us. Fairly early on in the film someone describes Manchester as both a genius in seeing and understanding the world and a complete idiot in terms of lacking basic common sense, and the theme of Roofman is exploring that idea.

We get a little of Jeff's life before prison and the family that moves on without him following his incarceration, but most of the film is centered around the life he builds after escaping while living within the toy store. Kirsten Dunst, along with Lily Collias and Kennedy Moyer who play her daughters, become the surrogate family Jeff attempts to latch onto while waiting around until he can make his escape.

Roofman is an intriguing subject that makes for a perfectly fine movie. While it works, I think the romance angle is a bit too at the forefront of a story where we really want to see more of who Jeff is and more of him hiding out while managing to stay under the radar (and going crazy within the empty toy store every night which provides most of the film's memorable moments).

Even if you don't know the real events, there are no real surprises following the initial setup leading to the inevitable conclusion. I do think while attempting to make a more crowd-pleasing film, writer/director Derek Cianfrance leaves a bit of meat on the bone in further exploring Jeff and what makes him tick. That said, Tatum is having fun as the childish and likable Jeff who, as his best-friend (LaKeith Stanfield) remarks early in the film, is simply to nice to be an effective criminal. And while it's far from one of her best performances, Dunst is solid here leading a supporting cast that also includes Peter Dinklage as the by-the-book cliché of the asshole manager you expect to get in any workplace comedy.

• Title: Roofman
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