Roofman (2025) | The Wild, Hilarious, and True Story
- Dane Bundy
- Nov 3
- 3 min read
Roofman is a clever and delightful story about Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), a man who resorts to robbing McDonald’s to support his family, and he does so by cutting holes in the roofs. When he’s caught and placed in prison, he escapes and secretly lives in a Toys “R” Us for six months. A ridiculous plotline, right? Well, brace yourself; it’s based on a true story.
This is a special film that reminds me of Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me if You Can, one of my favorite’s. Just like in this movie, I smiled and laughed all the way through the film. Derek Cianfrance, a director who continues to gain my respect, directed the film. In 2012, he made an excellent movie called The Place Beyond the Pines, starring Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper. Roofman carries his distinctive style, which is heavily character-driven and sure to stir emotions and compassion for the characters.
Cianfrance does this incredibly well with Jeffrey Manchester whocomes across as brilliant and charming, almost immediately endearing himself to us. It’s impossible for us to overlook that this bumbling outlaw has a heart. In the opening sequence, we see Manchester hold McDonald’s employees up at gunpoint, asking them to move into the standup freezer. But when he realizes the manager doesn’t have a coat, Jeffrey gives him his own. Lots of irony here.
A Textbook Example
However, as much as I want to jump up and down and say this is one of the best films of the year, I have a knot in my gut that won’t let me. Good intentions and kind demeanor aside, Jeffrey is a man operating outside the law, stealing goods, causing property damage, and even lying to people who care for him deeply. He’s a perfect example of a kind-hearted hypocrite. On one hand, he’s a faithful congregant at a church, a caring boyfriend, a loving father, and . . . all while living in a Toys “R” Us, eating their food and selling their inventory at a pawnshop for cash.
In plotlines like this, I always ask: does he turn from his crimes and does the story bring justice? I won’t spoil the ending for you, but even if Jeffrey turns from his life of crime and deceit, we, the audience, are swept along in his deception. And it’s really fun . . . watching him dupe everyone around him. Like Frank Abagnale Jr. in Catch Me if You Can, Jeffrey has an extraordinary gift of noticing things most people do not. And here’s the scary part: at no point in the journey did I want the authorities to capture him. Eek! A textbook example of a bent story where we’re drawn to root for evil and not good.
And yet, I will not tell you to avoid this movie. If bent stories teach us anything, it’s that no man is wholly good (except for Christ) nor wholly evil. With Jeffrey Manchester, we’re given a look at a man in conflict: he desires to be good but cannot stop pursuing it in the wrong way. To some extent, every human being battles in this way. Paul describes it well: “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:14). Sin makes us hypocrites!
And yet, for the believer, Christ has freed us from the slavery of sin. My prayer for Jeffrey is that during those six months he spent in church, the seeds of the gospel sank into his heart. I hope someday he will meet Christ and experience the freedom He offers.
In conclusion, this is a very well-made and charming film. However, with its bent storyline, language, and scene of sexual content, I recommend you use discernment in bringing your kids to see it. Or even seeing it yourself. But if you see it, let me know–I’d love to hear what you think!
👇 Check out our review of the film on Stage & Stage Story TV!
Dane Bundy is President of Stage & Story and Director of Fine Arts at Regents School of Austin.