Roofman was a movie that came out recently, and it was one that I had wanted very much to see in theaters. But I never got around to finding the time to do so; it came and left the cinema pretty quickly without leaving too much sign of its existence. Luckily, it was a short-lived break between its theatrical window and its streaming one, as Roofman debuted on Paramount Plus recently.
Magic Mike himself, Channing Tatum, plays the lead here: the titular “Roofman”, Jeffrey Manchester. To start the film, we learn that he is living separate from the mother of his children, and the two of them are sharing custody of their daughter and twin infant boys. Jeffrey, a former soldier, isn’t doing exceptionally well in civilian life around the turn of the twenty-first century. He wants to provide the best for his kids, but he doesn’t have the funds to do so.
LaKeith Stanfield plays Steve, Jeff’s former soldier buddy, and he notes that Jeff has a borderline superpower-esque ability to notice things others don’t. A desperate Jeff uses this ability to plot a series of robberies of local McDonald’s. After robbing his forty-fifth Mickey D’s, Jeff is caught and sentenced to several years in prison.
Jeff quickly escapes his confinement and makes his way back into the world, settling in behind a pop-out bicycle display at Toys R’ Us. While waiting for the news to settle down and forget about him, he makes the best life possible for himself. And while set up in the toy store, he makes a connection with an employee there, Leigh (played by Kirsten Dunst, affecting a Southern accent no one else is really bothering with).
Will Jeff maintain his freedom? Will he and Leigh have any future together? You gotta stream the movie to find out!
Two Ups and Two Downs
Ups:
- Tatum gives a heartfelt performance that also has a lot of fun to it. He is incredibly vulnerable as Jeff, but he also gets to have scenes where he runs around inside a toy store and act like a big kid. He continues to prove he is a capable and versatile actor who can take a myriad of projects and make them better due to his presence. Pretty good for a guy whose biggest and most successful role was playing a dancing stripper.
- Tatum is in the Brad Pitt position where, if it weren’t for his leading man good looks, he could be one of the best comedic actors of our time. He has impeccable timing, delivery, and willingness to be self-effacing. Whether it is in cameos, such as in This Is The End or Bullet Train, or in leading roles, like in The Lost City, Tatum is great at comedy. This movie doesn’t give him quite as much humor to work with as it looks like it will–more on that in a bit!–but he gets instead to blend his talent for making audiences laugh with his more serious acting. It’s a top shelf portrayal, and it could low-key be one of his best.
- Derek Cianfrance is the director here, and he does some solid work with tracking shots and cuts. There were some extended one-cut shots that follow Tatum through some action, and I was impressed by the seamlessness of those moments. They don’t draw attention to themselves, but they are there, creating a mentally immersive experience. I am interested to see what he does going forward and to catch up on some of his previous works.
- Looking over his career, he has worked on projects such as Blue Valentine and The Sound Of Metal (even if he was only a story credit for the latter). I’ve actually owned The Sound Of Metal as physical edition–one of the few I own!–for quite a while now, but I haven’t taken the time to watch it. Maybe now is the impetus I need to finally get around to that.
Downs:
- The movie presents as a comedy from all of the advertising that I saw, but it is actually more of a drama with occasional humorous elements. If you are expecting one mood and end up getting another, it’s distracting and can put you off right away. Dramas not currently being entirely en vogue, perhaps the marketing team felt safer portraying the film as a comedy, and I get that. And luckily, I kind of threw my lot in with whatever the flick wanted to do. But I can imagine several folks leaving this outing a little bitter about being sold a false bill.
- – The movie starts off with Jeff being a savant who notices everything and has a plan for everything. The early basis of the film is predicated on this characterization. And that kind of goes away as the movie wears on; after the first act, Jeff’s ability to discern his surroundings and adapt and plan gives way to his need to just survive. It maybe makes some sense as he gets more desperate or relaxed or what-have-you at the various turns the movie takes, but it betrays what it set up as his defining character trait. I kind of wanted to see more of his superpower as he hangs in there.
It’s sad that Roofman did not make a bigger splash in the theatrical or home viewing markets, because I think history will be kind to this movie and Channing Tatum’s role in it. Tatum has long established himself as a dancer or a handsome leading man or a comedic talent, but this effort showcases his abilities as a dramatic actor playing a character whose back is against the wall. Roofman is enjoyable and heartfelt, and it isn’t afraid to let its protagonist be wildly flawed and not that good of a guy. It relishes letting its audience be conflicted over how they feel.
OVERALL: 3.5/5