The Founder

I was actually surprised when it was over, because the movie had gone by so fast. Who knew a film about McDonald's would be this interesting? Of course Michael Keaton has no problem diving into the character of wheeler dealer Ray Kroc. His perfect foil is Nick Offerman as Dick McDonald, deadpan, a solid rock of a man with strong ideas about integrity. John Carroll Lynch as Mac McDonald, Dick's brother, a taller but more accommodating man, is also outstanding. Linda Cardinelli as Joan Smith, eventually to be Joan Kroc, is quite lovely and looks good in the period costumes. At the end of the film Kroc offers what are now, I believe, called "alternative facts" about the founding of McDonald's. The film is very much about two different visions of America as reflected in two different approaches to business.

For car buffs, this film is a must, with many fine 1950s vehicles on display.

Really don't even know how to review this movie. Acting was superb, but content makes me sick. I give this a 1 on storyline alone. Ray Kroc was a scumbag of the highest order, in a class all his own. My heart breaks for the McDonald Brothers who were steamrolled, manipulated, and who had their livelihood utterly destroyed by this cunning, ruthless, and I'm convinced, sociopathic man. Especially with the notes at the end how they never received one dime in royalties. This story will really make you hate McDonald's.

A competently crafted, steadily paced & extensively researched biographical drama that's further uplifted by Michael Keaton's fantastic performance, The Founder covers the rags to riches tale of an ambitious salesman who sensed & tapped the potential of a small fast-food diner in California and turned it into one of the largest & most successful restaurant chains in the world with a bit of hustle, persistence & ruthlessness.

Set in the 1950s, The Founder tells the story of Ray Kroc, a travelling salesman who comes across a small diner operated by two McDonald brothers in San Bernardino, California and is left dazzled by their lightning-fast service, high-quality food & strong work ethic. Wanting to be a part of their business, he joins them as their franchising agent to expand the fast-food chain all over America, and ultimately buys the company from the brothers.

Directed by John Lee Hancock, The Founder is as much about the cut-throat world of business as it is about the rise of McDonald's, and is told in an intuitive manner that keeps the interest alive at all times. Hancock handles the subject matter with restraint, maintains a firm grip over all aspects, and never deviates from the main premise. Also, the momentum is never lost as it moves from the discovery, creation, operation & expansion of McDonald's to the ultimate swindling.

The old style McDonald's restaurants depicted in the film are in tune with the timeline this film is set in and the vast countryside shooting locations help in further evoking its 1950s era. The sharp focus & still handling of camera, in addition to its warm colour palette, helps in providing a homely texture to its images. Editing keeps the pace steady and provides a tight & gripping structure to its plot while Carter Burwell's score is ever present in the background and silently performs its duties.

Coming to the performances, The Founder features a talented cast in Michael Keaton, John Carroll Lynch, Nick Offerman, Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson, B.J. Novak & Laura Dern. Leading from the front is Keaton who delivers another strong performance in what's the second coming of his acting career as he brings Kroc to life with flair, passion & panache. Lynch & Offerman are in as McDonald brothers and play their part convincingly, plus the moments between them & Kroc is as amusing as it is riveting.

On an overall scale, The Founder is a carefully investigated & smartly scripted biopic that's just as informative as it is entertaining and wonderfully illustrates the rise of the man who dared to dream bigger and single-handedly turned a small fast-food restaurant into a billion-dollar conglomerate with his aggressive business practices. It's also commendable for keeping Kroc's personal life out of the main narrative, something most Hollywood biopics are guilty of. A mostly satisfying journey, this story of McDonald's made me go "I'm Lovin' It" more than once over the course of its runtime, and is definitely worth a shot.

The Founder is a fascinating and frustrating story about a man (and a restaurant chain) that you simultaneously respect and dislike. Michael Keaton becomes Ray Kroc, and this film makes you realize how revolutionary the concept of McDonald's really was. It may have made my wife want to boycott the Golden Arches for a while, but it's still a well-made movie.

The Founder is another tale of the American Dream. It's the kind of tale we've seen a million times before. American man wants to become successful, sacrifices morality for moolah, etc. It's The Godfather, it's The Social Network, it's The Wolf of Wall Street. And The Founder, while entertaining, offers pretty much nothing new, or distinctive, to contribute. It is directed fairly conventionally, the story hits all the beats you'd expect, and it's not going to stick to your memory for too long.

But that discounts the fact that the film is rather well made. Performances are uniformly solid, and the film is undeniably compelling for much of its run time. But the real reason to see the film is the powerhouse performance of Michael Keaton, a neglected actor throughout the 2000s who seems to be finally getting roles that he deserves with this, Spotlight and Birdman to consider. He is slimy, charismatic, and curiously sympathetic in all the right ways.

In all The Founder may not light your world on fire, but it's a rock solid tale of greed and the American Dream that ought to entertain most that it meets.

Side Note -I have no idea why this is playing in Australia over a month before it comes out across the rest of the world, but hey I'm not complaining.