Roofman
Well, everyone, I tried to get in to see Melania but there wasn’t a spare seat, (My wife hopes you get the joke.) so I’m reviewing a film I actually watched a few weeks ago. I had intended to review it then, but I feel conflicted about it and thought I’d either let it go or let it percolate a while before talking about it.
Based on a true story, Channing Tatum plays the main character who is divorced and unemployed and, well, just kinda all around useless and can’t even give his daughter a decent birthday present. She doesn’t mind cause she loves her daddy, but his ex makes things hot for him. So hot he gets caught after becoming famous as the “Roofman” who made a living by knocking holes in McDonald’s restaurant roofs after hours and making off with the money inside. He gets caught, he goes to prison, he is ashamed of himself and then he escapes. To hide out till the heat is turned down, he breaks into a Toys “R”Us and makes himself at home. For quite a while.
Right off the bat I was oddly irritated at the choice of main character. Sure, the real life Roofman had an interesting MO that made him regionally famous, but a whole movie with well known actors and a good budget? I don’t mind a Robin Hood type, but this guy steals because he’s basically a loser who is a bit of an idiot savant. He’s not really stealing for the sake of his daughter. He’s stealing for the sake of his hurt ego and the fact he’s not much into real work.
During his very long stay in the giant toy store, where he lives on peanut M&Ms and bathes from the bathroom sink, he meets and falls in love with a woman with two daughters. Kirsten Dunst plays that woman and they make her look like a regular woman in the movie. I wouldn’t mind seeing those two play romance in again because they had chemistry coming out their ears. I was also taken aback a bit by Peter Dinklage, who plays the boss we’ve all had and would like to kill. He’s such a great actor I wanted to kill him.
I found myself engrossed all the way through, unfortunately mostly out of curiosity. The prison escape was genius, but only lasted about five minutes. It was nicely nostalgic seeing the inside of a Toys “R” Us store again, but not enough to be interesting for an hour. The Roofman was mostly impressively creative and smart about taking care of business and I would have been okay I guess about that until the character crossed a line. Things get a little violent, but it’s not like it’s his fault. Things get a little messy with the romance, but it’s not like it’s his fault. People start to get in trouble because of the massive amount of his thieving, but it’s not like it’s his fault.
That was the part of the movie that bugged me the most. It gets SUPER emotional at the end after working over the audience from the opening scene and I felt my heartstrings being tugged so hard they nearly pulled out like the crack of a whip. The overt manipulation of the audience actively pissed me off. It’s the story of a small time criminal who never figured out how to live in society and did something interesting once in his life. Don’t try to spin that into a waterworks of tears.
Basically, it’s not a bad movie but it does have issues. The acting is first rate across the board, and Channing does have a very cute butt, which we see at length. You can’t entirely fault a guy who really loves kids and wants them to love him back, but dude, buying their affection doesn’t count. There are cameos of the real life players in the end credits that were interesting. If you don’t mind being manipulated and might enjoy a slow motion, long term heist film, give this one a shot if you’re bored some night.
Triggers: Some violence, naked butt
Available on: Sling TV, MGM+, YouTube tv, fubo TV, Prime Video, Philo, Google TV, Apple TV, Fandango at Home
LINKS:
CFR: In Addition
Well. I may watch this. But after looking at Cranky’s review, I will put it way down on the list.
It is curious though. I’ve always wanted to live in the mall.
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