McDonald's has been one of if not the most influential brands in the world. It has been a staple of not only American fast food but American life, whether you like like it or not. Going into The Founder I did not know a lot Ray Kroc, other than that he was in some way involved with the mega chain. Turns out Kroc is a real piece of work, and while there were things about this story that interested me, overall what we get is the tale of an asshole and how he succeeded in screwing some people out of a lot of money. This is where the movie runs into its main problem, half the time it feels like praying at the alter of Kroc, and the other half feels like a pulled punch to the gut of ultra-capitalists.
The first act tells about Kroc struggling as a milkshake mixer salesman, when he discovers a restaurant unlike any of the others that he has visited. The speed of service, the consistency of the quality of the food and the way it brought the community together draws Kroc to the burger shack known as McDonald's. The rest of the movie plays out with Kroc slowly bleeding the McDonald brothers of their company and really the original intention of the restaurant. Kroc did implement some innovations that pushed McDonald's into a worldwide franchise, but these moments mostly come after the events of the movie. The innovative ideas that we do see are almost exclusively created by the McDonald brothers, who as previously stated basically get screwed the whole movie.
Michael Keaton is probably looking right back at you from both sides of the screen right now, so you have probably figured out he plays an important role here. Keaton plays it with his normal light comedy tone, which would work perfectly if the movie had embraced it more. I have no idea what Ray Kroc is like so I really don't know if he was anything like Keaton's performance, but darn it if he is not enjoyable to watch. When Kroc begins his descent into jerk off Keaton is professional enough to pull off the switch in character just enough to keep the original idea of him intact. For the most part everyone else just pops in and out. Nick Offerman and John Carrol Lynch play the McDonald brothers who come and go quite regularly, again mostly getting screwed. Poor Laura Dern plays Kroc's first wife, who is relegated to the bummer at home. She never gets to be anything but disappointing which in turn, is disappointing.
The McDonald brothers main concern for franchising their restaurant, which had taken them years to perfect just the way they wanted it was that the quality of the food would suffer and thus the name would suffer. Now some 60 odd years later it is funny to think about how that is exactly what happened, and there in lies the main problem with The Founder. There is no critical look at the moves Kroc made. They don't fully back his decisions, but they also don't condemn them. This movie needed a side to take, with it stuck in the middle the story becomes so much less than it could have been. It's like if The Big Short did not make up its mind when it comes to the bankers that caused the financial meltdown.
My final thoughts on the movie are pretty simple, there is an interesting story here, where in some ways the world was changed for the better, and some for the worse. I just don't believe it was told in the right way, and while not an incredibly important tale was one that was not difficult to sit through. at an hour and 55 minute run time, The Founder just sneaks under the magic 2 hour mark, but honestly could have been about 15 minutes shorter. There was something here, but with the tone of the movie stuck on the fence, The Founder is pretty forgettable.
The first act tells about Kroc struggling as a milkshake mixer salesman, when he discovers a restaurant unlike any of the others that he has visited. The speed of service, the consistency of the quality of the food and the way it brought the community together draws Kroc to the burger shack known as McDonald's. The rest of the movie plays out with Kroc slowly bleeding the McDonald brothers of their company and really the original intention of the restaurant. Kroc did implement some innovations that pushed McDonald's into a worldwide franchise, but these moments mostly come after the events of the movie. The innovative ideas that we do see are almost exclusively created by the McDonald brothers, who as previously stated basically get screwed the whole movie.
Michael Keaton is probably looking right back at you from both sides of the screen right now, so you have probably figured out he plays an important role here. Keaton plays it with his normal light comedy tone, which would work perfectly if the movie had embraced it more. I have no idea what Ray Kroc is like so I really don't know if he was anything like Keaton's performance, but darn it if he is not enjoyable to watch. When Kroc begins his descent into jerk off Keaton is professional enough to pull off the switch in character just enough to keep the original idea of him intact. For the most part everyone else just pops in and out. Nick Offerman and John Carrol Lynch play the McDonald brothers who come and go quite regularly, again mostly getting screwed. Poor Laura Dern plays Kroc's first wife, who is relegated to the bummer at home. She never gets to be anything but disappointing which in turn, is disappointing.
The McDonald brothers main concern for franchising their restaurant, which had taken them years to perfect just the way they wanted it was that the quality of the food would suffer and thus the name would suffer. Now some 60 odd years later it is funny to think about how that is exactly what happened, and there in lies the main problem with The Founder. There is no critical look at the moves Kroc made. They don't fully back his decisions, but they also don't condemn them. This movie needed a side to take, with it stuck in the middle the story becomes so much less than it could have been. It's like if The Big Short did not make up its mind when it comes to the bankers that caused the financial meltdown.
My final thoughts on the movie are pretty simple, there is an interesting story here, where in some ways the world was changed for the better, and some for the worse. I just don't believe it was told in the right way, and while not an incredibly important tale was one that was not difficult to sit through. at an hour and 55 minute run time, The Founder just sneaks under the magic 2 hour mark, but honestly could have been about 15 minutes shorter. There was something here, but with the tone of the movie stuck on the fence, The Founder is pretty forgettable.