“Take the eggs, batter, patties and McMuffins out of the freezer.” Another day springs to life at one of ten thousand near-identical McDonald’s restaurants across the U.S. One man sees with crystal-clear vision that the company “turn[s] ground beef and potatoes into money.” He dons a balaclava, hammers a hole through the roof, clambers into the store, locks the early-shift staff into the walk-in fridge, and helps himself to the takings from the safe; then calls the cops and gets them to unlock the fridge.
“Roofman” (Paramount Pictures), showing now at the Montrose Playhouse, is a breezy caper. Jeffrey (who becomes John after his escape from prison), played by Channing Tatum, has a superpower—he notices things. As his friend Steve puts it, “You got a little x-ray vision going on.” Humiliated at his daughter’s birthday and in dire need of money, he witnesses a contractor blithely climbing up a ladder onto the roof of a McDonald’s restaurant. He learns everything about the way McDonald’s restaurants behave, then concocts a slick technique for relieving the company of its money. Of course, such a scheme eventually results in his imprisonment (following a hilarious chase during his daughter’s next birthday party). But soon the guards “stop watching you and you start watching them.” He escapes—by learning the routes the delivery drivers take in and out of the prison and the best places to intercept them—and sets up a temporary home in a Toys “R” Us. Leigh, played by Kirsten Dunst, a member of staff, falls for him during a singles event arranged by her church, and he moves in with her.
Leigh’s eldest daughter Lindsay, played by Lily Collias, captures the cynical, stroppy teen-ager to a T, picking the perfect moment to broadcast her theory—“I hope the sex is worth it”—during a Thanksgiving dinner with the church congregation. Meanwhile good-hearted Leigh appears to accept a great deal at face value (one wonders whether her daughter has a point). John showers her family with expensive gifts, which he pays for by pawning video games stolen from Toys “R” Us; “You need to slow it down a little bit,” she says. “Be you. Be normal.” He doesn’t pay attention; she doesn’t particularly mind.
Jeffrey/John is a conniver: he opportunistically shifts between four different personas. The first is the criminal—taking hostages and robbing at gunpoint; the second is the child with the keys to the toy store—roller skating, trying on fancy-dress costumes and wigs; the third is the spy—bugging the manager’s office, lurking, watching, snooping, and planning his escape to Venezuela; and the fourth is the charming, charismatic lover. The filmmakers go for a light touch: except for one short instance, “Roofman” is devoid of violence and without excessive swearing and sits firmly on the 12-A side of a 15-rating. This airiness is carried along with ease by a laconic, relaxed, likeable score, much of it comprising clarinets and piano, by Christopher Bear. One lovely moment in the soundtrack accompanies a later break-in; the string accompaniment cleverly slips and slides down a scale as John cuts through the layers of material into the (wrong) store below.
The cinematography is often thrilling. Take one spritely scene mid-way through. When suddenly interrupted while grooming himself in the staff toilets, and whilst the store is adorned with his clothes drying on a makeshift washing line, which he has strung overnight between two aisles, a stark-naked John sprints back to his hideaway. The whole sequence is exhilarating—impeccable timing, fast-moving camera, perfectly captured reaction shots of the store manager—and cut with a king-sized dose of a gag. Another toy-store scene involving musical “Tickle-Me-Elmo” dolls—each with a different jingle—is hilarious. The frequent close-up shots of John emphasise how seductive he is; “You’re wondering how a nice guy like me ends up becoming a criminal,” he asks at one point.
The singles event—John is the only man invited—is another first-class scene. One of the attendees is a retired detective in town (the film’s events take place in Charlotte, North Carolina). Just watch John squirm as she pours cold water on his totally unbelievable story (“I work for the government. I can’t exactly talk about it. Classified,” he says). In order to divert attention, John darts under the table to admire the women’s shoes. And so, Leigh checks her facts the first time they are alone. “You’re gay, right,” she asks. “You seem to love women’s shoes!” But, having received the necessary negative, she asks him out.
True, the rom-com aspect is integral to the story. But it is a touch overplayed and doesn’t propel the storytelling as much as the events at the Toys “R” Us or by any of the terrific scenes involving the church. (I loved, for instance, the evangelical choir director —“can I count on you for next Sunday?”) Telling more of the backstory of John and pal Steve’s military friendship would have explained some of the moments which don’t quite make logical sense. And Steve himself, played by an excellent LaKeith Stanfield, doesn’t get enough screen time. But these are small gripes. “Roofman,” a friend of mine remarked the other day, “looks like a fun popcorn movie.” That’s just about right; all told, the quick-paced filmmaking makes it one of the strongest two or three films of the year so far. There’s even a suggestion that it will become a Christmas movie in future years; the scene where John eventually apprehends the staff and robs the Toys “R” Us is accompanied by “O Come, all ye Faithful.”
As the manhunt gets underway, the Charlotte Police issue the conventional statements; “When he tries to run…we’ll be ready,” one sheriff confidently predicts to the amassed television-news cameras. John knows that eventually the news cycle moves on. People are too preoccupied to notice him right in their midst. “Most guys, when they escape, … get caught in the first few hours. The trick is to stop,” he says. “Find a place no-one will look!”
Adam Poole
19th October 2025
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