The Founder - Review
This review of The Founder is spoiler-free... does it really need to be though?
Growing up in the 90s, McDonald's was a huge part of the lives of many kids. For me though, my family managed to avoid the fast food chain's ridiculous reach and found our fast food interests met in other places. Growing up though, I didn't realize the more in-depth history that was behind this massive company that has arms all over the globe. The Founder allows this story to be told, with a few alterations. Ray Kroc's journey from milkshake machine salesman to the CEO of McDonald's Corporation is interesting and also a kick in the teeth for those of us who believe the American dream is all frills and roses.
Let's start off with the most obvious and highly-touted part of this film: Ray Kroc himself. Michael Keaton embodies this, dare I say, mogul in a way that I can't imagine many others did. Ray Kroc was a man with a lot of poise and a go-getter style attitude. Michael Keaton's range as an actor allows him to tap into those raw emotions necessary to capture this character, to the point that I felt as though I was looking at Ray Kroc living and breathing. Some of the other characters in the film, such as the McDonald's brothers (Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch), allow the story to be fleshed out. Offerman is a standout here, making a character that in other formats could have been interpreted in a comedic aspect, a rather serious and important character.
The overall story of this film is rather biographical in nature, so I suppose there isn't too much to discuss in this film. Kroc's story though is interesting in the overall narrative. I feel that his overall battle to build up McDonald's into an empire is a better story than the highly touted conflict of himself vs. the brothers. The first half of the film is rather slow, with the conflict focusing on those two groups and I really wasn't that interested. It had me wondering whether this is something that can truly be tackled and handled well in a film. But, as I previously mentioned, at the halfway point of the film it begins to take off with the overall story pivoting to a heavier focus on Kroc and his building of the company.
Introducing new characters into the mix to help with the building of the corporation also helped the film become a bit more interactive for the viewer. Kroc had a ton of challenges between sticking with what the brothers wanted from their family-friendly restaurant, and growing the franchises to reach more markets. This story of push and pull was the true strength of the movie overall and while I'm sure the story wouldn't really connect with a variety of audiences, it's interesting to see. It also really gave you the idea that even though Kroc helped to build such a massive empire, he really wasn't someone who cared about being a good person at heart. Sometimes that's what business is all about though, dog eat dog, doing what you have to do to succeed, so it was good to see the writers didn't attempt to make him look like a hero.
Looking back on The Founder, I was impressed with Keaton's portrayal of Kroc. While he tries his best to elevate a story that really lacks the true strength to be shown on film, it's tough to push this as something many will enjoy. For those who are avid fans of this chain, or business savvy folks, I can see this being a film worth checking out, but it's a niche market for a film that I don't ever truly see being a wide reaching hit. I enjoyed the film for what it was, a character piece tied together with a biographical telling of the history of this company's growth, but I hesitate to say everyone will do the same. If you're looking for a biographical film with a strong story and supporting characters I would say to look elsewhere, because The Founder is all Ray Kroc all the time.
