A charismatic criminal, while on the run from the police, hides in a hidden space of a toy store. There, he adopts a new identity and becomes involved with an employee, beginning a relationship as unlikely as it is risky.
Posted: November 12, 2025
I remember hearing about the “Roofman” back in 2000, but I didn’t know much about the story. After watching the movie, I found it to be quite interesting. I am not sure how much of it is actually true, but typically, a film will say “Based on a true story.” This one, however, stated very clearly, “This is a true story.”
The movie is listed as a comedy, and while there are some funny parts, I would describe it more as a drama with some romance and a bit of humor sprinkled in. Most of the comedy sparks from the silly, idiotic moments, along with the dialogue.
If you are unfamiliar with the story, it follows Jeffery Manchester, played by Channing Tatum, who goes on a crime spree by breaking into several McDonald’s restaurants through the roof. He waits for the restaurant to open, then locks the employees in the cooler so he can take the money from the safe. Eventually, he gets caught and sent to prison. Later, he escapes and hides inside a Toys R’ Us for months. During that time, he begins a relationship while keeping his true identity secret.
It is worth noting that Manchester was always polite during his robberies. Before locking the employees in the cooler, he made sure they had jackets to keep warm. Throughout the film, it is clear that Manchester was a genuinely kind person who liked making others happy by giving gifts and doing thoughtful things.
With that said, I really enjoyed watching the film. I was expecting more of a comedy, but I was fine with the amount that was there. The entire cast did a great job in their roles. As a Peter Dinklage fan, I enjoyed seeing him as Mitch, the Toys R Us manager. His character is rude and unpleasant toward the staff, but when he gets robbed or sees the “naked man,” he runs and hides like a scared little coward. It was pretty amusing. I couldn’t help but laugh when the die pack blew up in his face.
I originally thought this film was going be more about Jeff robbing the restaurants, but I was completely wrong. It’s mainly about him hiding inside the Toys R’ Us while building his relationship with Leigh, played by Kirsten Dunst. This wasn’t a bad thing though, I was just kind of hoping to see more comedic robberies going south.
By the end of the movie, I was hoping that Jeff, also known as John, would escape to another country, since that was his plan from the start, but I knew that was not going to happen. It became predictable once you got to know his character. Still, I liked the ending even though I found myself rooting for the bad guy to get away. If you ask me, he should never have answered the phone.
Overall, I would say this movie is definitely worth watching. Not just to see Channing Tatum play a somewhat dimwit criminal, but for the story itself, which is both entertaining and oddly heartwarming.
Overall Verdict: Expect more of a drama/romance but stay for the comedy. If you like Channing Tatum, you'll enjoy this film.
Posted: November 28, 2025
I didn’t see a whole lot of press for this movie when it was released, but I did hear that it was based on a true story. I enjoy watching those types of movies which is why I decided to give this one a shot. Roofman is described by IMDB as a dark comedy/drama/crime/dark romance which I suppose is accurate. However, to me it felt like it leans more into the romance than anything else. It is a comedy in the sense that there are some comedic elements to some of the things that happen, but don’t go into this one thinking you’re going to get an outright comedy. It favors more on the romance side, developing the story of the relationship between the criminal (played by Channing Tatum), his new love interest (played by Kirsten Dunst), and her family.
This true story tells the tale of a former soldier who turns to robbing McDonald’s franchises after falling on hard times once he returns to civilian life. He uses his skills learned in the military to climb down through the roofs of these establishments and rob the crews once they arrive for the store opening. He is ultimately caught and sentenced to prison. After gaining the trust of the guards, he escapes prison and ends up hiding in plain sight in the local Toys R Us store. Through his good nature and will to help children, he winds up meeting a church going divorced mom who also works at the Toys R Us where he is hiding. Their relationship develops over time and he takes increasingly dangerous risks to leave the store to see her. Eventually his double life starts to catch up with him and he’s forced to make a choice that will determine the rest of his life.
The movie boasts a very impressive supporting cast, with Peter Dinklage and LaKeith Stanfield holding the movie together with their characters. Most of the comedic parts come from these two who are nearly always good in whatever they are in. Also impressive are the big names they got for more minor roles, such as Juno Temple, Uzo Aduba, and Ben Mendelsohn. Overall a very well-rounded cast.
The issue that I had with this movie is that it just felt a little boring. The funny parts weren’t enough to make it a true comedy, the dramatic parts weren’t enough to make it a great drama, the romantic parts didn’t necessarily make it a full on romance, and so on. It simply told the story and that was it.
Now, the thing that really made this story interesting and unique was that the criminal was actually by all accounts a good person. He only did what he did to try and provide for his family. He never hurt anyone in any of the robberies he committed, and was even described by the people he robbed as being very polite. One of the store managers he robbed forgot to wear his coat to work, so he gave him the coat off his back before locking him in the freezer. Additionally, he loved children and took toys from the store to donate to the church. He acted as a father figure to the daughters of his love interest and he really just seemed to want the family life. This made the story quite heart-warming despite the fact that he was in fact a criminal on-the-run. It made you root for him to win.
It’s hard to say how much of this story was true and how much was either embellished or made up for the sake of the movie, but there were a couple things that stood out to me, one good and one bad. The good – I am a HUGE fan of peanut M&M’s and I loved how after securing his new home inside the Toys R’ Us, he routinely stole and ate all their M&M’s. I feel like this is exactly what I would have done. Very relatable. The bad – when he first escapes prison he tries to go back and see his real family. He gets close to seeing his daughter but there are too many cops around which is when he goes and hides in the Toys R’ Us. Over the next few months he makes all these daring trips from the store to see his new love interest, but never once does he ever try and reach back out to his actual family. Did they just leave all this out or did he really never even attempt to see them again? This didn’t make sense to me especially being the family man that he was. Even at the end when he’s ready to skip town for good it’s all about the woman he’s known for a few months, not his own flesh and blood daughter. I feel like they should have addressed that a little more.
All in all this was a decent movie. I don’t feel like I’ll ever need to watch it again but I’m also not upset that I did watch it. If you like true crime love stories, or just want to watch Channing Tatum run around naked in a Toy Store, this could be just the movie for you.
Overall Verdict: This one is a little on the boring side but it has enough heart and warmth to make it a satisfying watch.
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