Quirky 'Roofman' features Channing Tatum at his best

There's considerable throwback appeal to “Roofman,” a quirky dramedy based on an unbelievable true story that mines the same groove as films like Richard Linklater's “Bernie” (2011) and Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!” (2009), featuring a lead character you just can't help but root for, despite the bafflingly bad choices he makes along the way.

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But because this comedic crime caper is helmed and co-written by Derek Cianfrance, who is known for his melodramatic weepies “Blue Valentine,” “The Place Beyond the Pines” and “The Light Between Oceans,” the effect of “Roofman” is far more poignant and tender than wacky and wild; the material itself is mind-boggling enough.

Channing Tatum stars as Jeff Manchester, aka the Roofman, a well-meaning but savant-like career criminal who robbed upwards of 45 McDonald's locations in the late 1990s by tearing holes in the roofs. The film follows his time living for months in a Toys R Us while on the lam in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2004.