'Roofman' Review: Channing Tatum Makes You Fall in Love With a McDonald's Robber in a Story Too Convoluted Not to Be True

"I'm not a bad guy. I've just made some bad choices."

Jeff Manchester is an odd duck of a man. A former member of the Army Reserve, he spends his days juggling time spent with his estranged daughter and ex-wife, while his nights are occupied robbing McDonald's in the local Charlotte, North Carolina area, circa the early 2000s. He is referred to as Roofman by the media due to his modus operandi of entering his crime sprees via the roof. Jeff is eventually caught by the authorities and sentenced to prison.

But that's just the beginning of Jeff Manchester's story.

"Roofman," directed by Derek Cianfrance ("Blue Valentine"), dives deep into the motivations, criminality, and post-prison life of Jeff Manchester (Channing Tatum). After escaping prison (yes, authorities seem never to get a handle on how to keep Jeff in one place), he hides in a Toys "R" Us store to evade capture by the police. A state-wide manhunt doesn't stop Jeff from basically hiding in plain sight, dating a Toys "R" Us employee, Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), all while plotting his next move.

This is a true story, though for cinematic purposes some details are exaggerated and some are changed completely. But Jeff's overall trajectory and the genius with which he unfailingly outsmarts local police are intact in this film. Cianfrance and co-writer Kirt Gunn do a marvelous job of making their audience fall in love (and lust) with Jeff, but the sense of urgency for the outlaw to get caught is increased with every move he makes.

For one thing, Jeff is unbelievably friendly, yet everything and everyone he comes into contact with inevitably gets hurt. He's one smart cookie, and Tatum plays him as such. Adept at using his charisma and charm to work over even his closest family and friends (LaKeith Stanfield is a stand-out as an old Army buddy with a side hustle of manufacturing fake passports), Jeff's determination and ego tend to get the better of him.

We witness Jeff's antics for much of "Roofman" within the confines of the Toys "R" Us he's chosen to reside in, making for humorous subplots where he learns all of the workplace gossip and lives off of candy sold at the store. It's easy to fall for Tatum's version of Jeff. However, the lingering feeling of lawlessness still exists, and the character becomes difficult to root for after repeatedly making poor decisions. His connection with Leigh and her young children, combined with a personal vendetta he's acquired for Leigh's boss (Peter Dinklage), makes destroying innocent lives with his true identity a constant cloud that hangs over the film's central premise.

"Roofman" is easily Cianfrance's most digestible film and one that can be rewatched over and over again due to the magnetism that Channing Tatum brings to the screen and character. An ensemble cast that includes Ben Mendelsohn as a local pastor, Juno Temple as Stanfield's girlfriend, and Jimmy O. Yang as a used-car salesman lends the film silliness and humor throughout. But this is a crime movie after all, and there's no easy way to say this: Jeff's story will undoubtedly not end well.

The inventiveness of Jeff's crimes, combined with his affable personality, makes the real Jeff Manchester's offenses seem out of this world in comparison to other similar criminals. The fact that he hides in plain sight gives a cat-and-mouse premise some breath of fresh air. Plus, it's never a bad time at the movies watching Channing Tatum in a career-best performance mirroring a Tom Cruise slide a la "Risky Business" in his underwear.

But for what could be a "girlfriend of" type of character, Kirsten Dunst injects an understated yet powerful interpretation into "Roofman" that grounds Tatum's version of Jeff in particularly family-friendly ways. Leigh is a woman who is desperately independent but falls for Jeff's tricks, though the love they find together might be his eventual downfall. It's a quiet and unlikely chemistry that fuels the film past the comedy aspects into an experiment of normalcy and patience.

"Roofman" isn't a movie that will define Channing Tatum or director Derek Cianfrance's filmography, even if both are proving their worth as storytellers in a resourceful comedy caper. Jeff's story is incredibly true and eerily leveled, even if we don't fully grasp the motives behind his bad-boy nature. Tatum and Dunst are fantastic together, while the film's ensemble brings levity and reality to a premise too good not to be true.