Thursday, October 09, 2025
Roofman
It’s “The Escape Plan” meets “The Fugitive” meets “Catch Me If You Can” with a hint of “Risky Business” & the feel of “Home Alone”.
This unbelievable true story has a polite & nice demeanor robber/escape convict/con man alluding law enforcement for 6 months by hiding out at a toy store. This is a fun & entertaining crime drama comedy. Tatum Channing plays Jeffrey Manchester aka John Zorn, an army veteran with no marketable skills, divorcé, & father to a six-year-old daughter & twin infant sons. Jeffery takes to robbing McDonald restaurants to make ends meet while trying to provide for his family. His modus operandi is breaking through roofs to gain access & then holding up the staff of workers. Thus, he becomes known as the mysterious Roof Robber aka the Roofman. When he is finally caught & arrested, he is sent to prison for 40 years. However, Jeffrey is a smart & observant man & manages his daring escape. With alerts of his escape announced, he desperately breaks into a Toys R Us store to hide out using his clever resourcefulness to remain undetected. As his loneliness sets in from no human contact & with his eavesdropping skills, he becomes attracted to one store employee Leigh (Kirsten Dunst). As Jeffry boldly ventures out of his safe sanctuary, he accidentally meets Leigh in person at a church function & his double life situation wildly explodes from there. Channing is perfect as the handsome charming con man hiding in plain sight. A surprise bonus feature is Channing naked butt performance. It’s hard not to root for this nice guy criminal. Peter Dinklage, LaKeith Stanfield, & Ben Mendelsohn are in the supporting cast. See how this cat & mouse game concludes. Will Jeffrey manage to avoid captivity or is he destined to return to prison? Will he finally find love & happiness? Photos & summaries of the real people portrayed appear at the end of this film along with news reel footages & interviews proving certain authenticity to particular incidents. This storyline is absolutely insane but true.
Alien gives it 3½ “big kid in a toy store” stars out of 4.
