Review of The Founder (2016) by Patrick L — 15 Jun 2017

"I'm lovin' it! "The Founder" serves as a vastly entertaining movie about the making of a billion-dollar fast food industry.".

DVD Movie Review: The Founder.

Date Viewed: April 21 2017.

Directed By John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, The Rookie and Saving Mr. Banks).

Written By Robert D. Siegel.

Starring: Michael Keaton, John Carroll Lynch, Nick Offerman, Linda Cardellini, B.J. Novak, Laura Dern, Justin Randell Brooke, Kate Kneeland, Wilbur Fitzgerald and Patrick Wilson.

"The Founder" tells the story of a milkshake salesman from Illinois who took someone's idea and turned it into a billion-dollar phenomenon. Ray Kroc is our main character, he's the supposed founder of McDonald's, a very popular fast food chain that was first created in the early 1950s in Southern California by two brothers named Mac and Dick McDonald. Michael Keaton gives one of his most engrossing performances as Mr. Kroc who evolves from a normal salesman to a rich and greedy egomaniac to a snarly bastard. For those of you who probably know already, McDonald's is a fast food chain that will get your food ready in just 30 seconds. I loved eating at McDonald's when I was a kid but today I no longer have any appetite for the fast food titan because the burger and fries have too much fat and salt.

The movie doesn't glorify Ray Kroc and his successful fast food empire, it simplifies how greedy bastards like him can get away with stealing someone's idea and turn it into your own property. Before McDonald's was a might fast food giant, it was just a small burger chain run by the McDonald brothers, Dick (Nick Offerman) and Mac (John Carroll Lynch).

One day when Ray Kroc (Keaton) finds the small burger chain, he meets with the McDonald brothers and after eating a delicious McDonald's hamburger, Kroc becomes impressed with the food and their fast service and he believes that there should be McDonald's everywhere. Kroc just shouts FRANCHISE THE DARN THING! FRANCHISE! FRANCHISE! FRANCHISE! FRANCHISE! but the McDonald brothers already tried it and they failed miserably. However, Ray thinks it's his turn to lead the efforts to McDonald's into a fast food enterprise but first he must agree to a contract that requires all changes to be determined in the hands of the McDonald brothers.

Soon, Ray gets going with his vision for McDonald's to be a global empire, he hit a few rough patches but business is booming and Ray Kroc is lovin' it. However, when Ray gets too far and pulls the company from under the McDonald brothers, they threaten him with legal action but he fires back by saying the movie's most memorable line: "Contracts are like hearts, they're made to be broken!". Before he became a wealthy fast food entrepreneur, Ray Kroc was just a struggling salesman who was pitching for milkshake makers. The performances are terrific here especially Keaton's who's a greedy force of nature all the way through. The supporting cast includes Laura Dern as Kroc's first wife, Linda Cardellini as Kroc's second wife, Patrick Wilson as an upscale restaurant owner who wants to invest in McDonald's and B.J. Novak as Kroc's financial consultant.

"The Founder" is a smart and clever drama with some extra laughs but I wish that the script by Robert D. Siegel (Turbo) would've been more satirical. If "The Founder" would've gone in that direction, it could've had the potential to become a savagely great movie. "The Founder" marks a smooth transition for director John Lee Hancock who previously helmed sweet and tender dramas such as "The Rookie", "The Blind Side" and "Saving Mr. Banks". Michael Keaton is the real reason you should see this movie, his performance is so energetic and precise he could've been a Best Actor contender at the Oscars this past February but the Weinstein Company moved "The Founder" to January because they thought it will never grab any awards attention.

Will "The Founder" have some sort of impact on the corporate greed and commercial capitalism which is consuming America today? Nope but "The Founder" serves as a vastly entertaining movie about the making of a billion-dollar fast food industry.