Nearly 10 years after his last film, The Light Between Oceans, dedicated sadboi writer/​director Derek Cianfrance returns with a surprisingly light crowd- pleaser based on a true story. It follows the robber Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), who notoriously broke into McDonald’s, Blockbuster and Burger King stores via their rooftops in the 1990s. It’s an entertaining heist/jail-break comedy-drama that alludes to the capitalist folly of the American Dream without ever really interrogating it. The focus remains on its subject, whose childlike qualities and romantic notions of family life lead to his downfall.

Tatum’s narration as Manchester guides the viewer through the film, and it’s tempting to think Cianfrance and co-writer Kirt Gunn had Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas in mind when using this storytelling device. The director toys with the tropes of crime and heist films but in a comedic way. They even cast people who were caught up in Manchester’s crimes in speaking roles to give a docu-fiction feel. Of course there’s nothing as gritty as Scorsese’s acclaimed gangster flick in Roofman, or as powerful as the diner scene in Michael Mann’s confident thriller Thief, with which this film shares similar beats when it comes to a love story between Manchester and single mother Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst).

Manchester hid out in a Toys R Us in Charlotte, North Carolina, for months after he broke out of jail. He spent his time gobbling Peanut M&Ms and using baby monitors to spy on the staff. Cianfrance sets this element up like a reality TV show as a way to illuminate how Manchester dealt with boredom. Focus is placed on the fact that he had ingenuity but not much of a brain for follow-through. Peter Dinklage plays the store manager without a heart, and Emory Cohen an employee lacking in courage. Is this Cianfrance’s The Wizard of Oz?

Wainscott never worked in the store but here Dunst is cast as an employee who welcomes Manchester into her church congregation. Dunst emanates radiant kindness, but it’s not a challenging role for her. Ben Mendelsohn plays wonderfully against type as a joyful pastor. The cast is stacked with LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Uzo Aduba and Tony Revolori taking on smaller roles.

It seems through his time speaking to Manchester, Cianfance became fond of his subject, so it’s understandable why he wants an audience to spend time with him. He paints him as a kind and naïve thief stuck in a dog-eat-dog system without the correct tools to lift himself up legally. Unfortunately, that’s part of the weakness of the film as it takes too long reach this point. And yet, watching Tatum flex both his comedic muscles (especially when it comes to slapstick) and dramatic chops is utterly endearing and he deserves kudos for this performance. Cianfrance takes a daring swerve away from his usual melancholic working- class love stories, such as the powerful anti-romance Blue Valentine, to deliver a comedy that delivers big laughs and the occasional thrill.