Roofman Parent Guide

Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) has a talent for seeing things no one else can see; for noticing patterns and remembering details. This served him in good stead during his military service and again in his current criminal activities. Having failed at regular work, Manchester has turned to armed robbery: he breaks through the roofs of McDonald’s restaurants overnight before emptying their safes and politely ordering the early morning staff into the walk-in freezers.

No crime spree lasts forever and in 2000, Manchester is arrested and incarcerated. Unwilling to spend 45 years in prison, he devotes his observational skills to planning an escape – which he succeeds in doing. Now there’s a massive manhunt underway and Manchester needs a place to hide until the furor subsides.

Once again, Manchester’s practical skills come to the fore and he soon finds a safe place to hide: a Toys R Us store. Life is safe, but it’s lonely and in a desperate bid for connection, Manchester starts attending a local church and begins a relationship with a store employee (Kirsten Dunst). There’s just one problem: if he’s going to disappear for good, he’ll need lots of money and that will require one more big heist…

Roofman is a slickly produced retelling of the real-life story of Jeffrey Manchester. It’s briskly paced, comic, poignant, and well acted. I’m no fan of Channing Tatum, who I usually consider wooden, but he delivers a better-than-usual performance here. Kirsten Dunst is outstanding, reminding us that there are no victimless crimes: her character’s loneliness makes her vulnerable to the equally lonely but incredibly selfish Jeff.

In fact, if this movie has a theme, it’s selfishness. It’s easy to depict Jeffrey Manchester as a modern Robin Hood; a smart, resourceful guy who rips off heartless corporations while being polite to the employees he holds at gunpoint. I might buy the spin if I didn’t have a relative with a career in the criminal justice system. I have heard too many stories of bank tellers and gas station employees and retail clerks whose lives have been destroyed by the trauma of having been robbed at gunpoint. Manchester doesn’t just steal from McDonald’s and Toys R Us: he traumatizes innocent store employees and he also takes money from the pockets of regular consumers who have to pay prices that are inflated to account for the cost of theft. We are all victims of Jeffrey Manchester and his ilk.

If you’re not deterred by the film’s sympathetic (but not exculpatory) portrayal of Manchester, you will want to consider the negative content. Violence is not detailed but there are scenes of armed robbery, an incident of arson, and a scene where a security guard is knocked out cold. The script features just over forty profanities, including thirteen sexual expletives. There is also an extended scene of male buttock nudity in a comic context and a scene of sexual activity where the parties are covered with a sheet. This is a pretty soft R-rating, but it’s still not suitable for minors.

As for you adults, you’ll either love watching Manchester’s resourcefulness or you’ll hate the glorification of crime. I definitely disapprove of the crime, but I must admit to enjoying the sight of Manchester beating a shelf full of Tickle-Me-Elmo dolls with a baseball bat. I hate kids’ toys that make noise (kids are noisy enough on their own) and that was a downright cathartic moment for me. It’s not worth the price of the ticket, though.

About author

Kirsten Hawkes

Kirsten Hawkes has a BA in Political Science and English and has worked in international development and medical education and marketing. Kirsten enjoys reading, watching movies, and debating politics with her husband and sometimes unwilling children.