Review of The Founder (2016) by Steve C — 25 Jan 2017
Keaton's performance is excellent as a driven Ray Kroc who finally latches onto a string of good ideas after a career of laughable failures. Perseverance was indeed his key. Happily the filmmakers forego flattery and unmask ruthless maneuvers.
Kroc's second wife, Joan, is spared exposure of the real Joan Kroc's uglier side: her famous racism.
The driving music track is obtrusive and annoying. One star for that effort.
One of my pet peeves concerns vintage cars in movie productions and this film fails miserably: all the dream wagons are shiny and museum ready. Kroc drives Route 66 from Missouri to California and arrives with a clean windshield.
Laura Dern makes up for such rookie errors by turning in a tempered and believable performance as Kroc's long-suffering first wife Ethel.
A strangely underdeveloped character is June Martino, played by Kate Kneeland. She began as Kroc's bookkeper and rose to become equity holder and corporation Director. Her backstory might have made an intriguing second angle for viewing the story of Ray Kroc. It would also have balanced the male-heavy telling of this success story in the man-centric mid-20th Century.
This review of The Founder (2016) was written by Steve C on 25 Jan 2017.
The Founder has generally received positive reviews.
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