Heading into Roofman tonight, I had been led to believe by its marketing that this was going to be a straight studio comedy, and that couldn’t have been much further from the truth. While there were certainly plenty of laughs to go around—and I mean plenty—Roofman really surprised in its emotional storytelling and family dynamics, which had me not only cheesing for most of the movie, but on the verge of tears for the moments devoid of jokes.

I can’t believe that the story of Jeffrey Manchester is true—and the film proved its authenticity with the always-fun credit comparisons—because not only were his crimes skillful and pretty impressive, but his relationships with both his real family and found family were so genuine and full of love.

Manchester really did seem to be two people—the caring, fun-loving dad who knows how to win all three of his “daughters”’ hearts, and the calculated criminal with a less-than-ideal understanding of how his actions would impact the ones he loved. Kind of admirably, one could tell that his crimes were completely love-motivated, and that he really cared for his family, which was both sweet and heartbreaking.

As evidenced by the last paragraph, Roofman clearly impressed emotionally, but the lasting impact of the film has to be its humor. Channing Tatum delivered as yet another Jeff (while I haven’t seen 22 Jump Street, I know the lore) and was hilarious in his execution of crimes (nicest criminal ever!). The supporting cast was also stuffed with talent and I enjoyed their contributions, though the cuteness of Kennedy Moyer as Dee probably surpassed each of her costars’ impacts. Her relationship with Jeffrey was absolutely adorable, and the bangs did, in fact, work.

One of my prevailing thoughts on Roofman as I left the theater was, “my dad would love this movie”, and I still think I’m absolutely right on that. A so-crazy-it-can’t-be-true-but-it-is comedy with surprising heart and even more laughs and stunts is sure to be a winner with just about anyone, and that includes my dad and me, of course. Can’t wait to hear him gush over it in two months.