Despite looking forward to many 2026 movies, I’m a bit behind on last year’s films, so I recently decided to use my Paramount+ subscription to watch Channing Tatum play a charming criminal in Roofman. While I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, the cast (which is also filled with talented actors like Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield, Peter Dinklage and more), and the characters, something I really loved was how Dunst’s unabashedly horny character was treated.
Kirsten Dunst Plays Leigh In Roofman, Who’s Based On A Real Person
Roofman is based on the true story of Jeffrey Manchester (portrayed by Channing Tatum, who noted that he did end up pulling for the man he plays), who garnered his titular nickname by drilling into the roofs of businesses in order to rob them. While serving time in prison for his crimes, he escaped and hid in a working Toys ‘R’ Us, eventually dating a single mom named Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), who had no clue who he really was.
In the film, Leigh is recently divorced after an unfulfilling and unhappy marriage, and when she meets Jeffrey (who’s going by John) at her church, it’s pretty clear that she likes him. Their relationship moves pretty quickly and in a very sweet way (for a movie, anyway). However, the best part about that romance is how the movie treats Leigh.
Leigh Is Allowed To Be Horny Without The Story Judging Her
The topic of sex is usually filled with numerous minefields, even when sexual relationships are shown on screen. Something that we’re rarely treated to in movies and TV shows are women approaching middle age, and with children who still live at home with them, to boot, who are allowed to be not just sexual, but full-on horny.
While the love story isn’t the main plot of Roofman, it was definitely a joy to watch Leigh ask Jeffrey out on a date, and then when they did have that date, make the additional move of inviting him back to her home to get horizontal.
We don’t usually get female characters who are close to middle age, with kids, and recently divorced who are also completely horny and willing to act on that horniness pronto on screen. Sure, you might see a host of women in their 20s who have lots of sex, or characters in their 30s who don’t have the responsibilities of parenthood that get it on on the regular.
When it comes to single mothers we’re supposed to like as characters, they tend to be so put upon that they no longer think about sex at all, much less actually taking the time to get some. In movies and on television, women in this category (and several others, actually) are frequently shown as sexless. That never applies to male characters in any stage of life. If they aren’t having sex it’s specifically related to issues that particular character is having, and not shown as just a fact of life for a man of a certain age or one who’s dealing with a certain level of life responsibility.
Not only do we see Leigh take her pleasure in her own hands by inviting Jeffrey to her place, but they have a damn fine time of it. Obviously, from the standpoint of Jeff being an escaped convict who was, yes, telling Leigh a host of lies, what she did could be seen as a bad move for her life. The story, however, doesn’t attempt to make the fact that Leigh had desires and wanted them fulfilled something shameful, which was also really lovely to see.
While things did not end well for Leigh and Jeff, at least he was a soft place for her and her daughters to land in the wake of the divorce, and that appears to be what they really needed. Now, if we can just get a movie where an older single mom has hot sex with a guy who’s not actually a major criminal, I’ll be even happier.
