Review of The Founder (2016) by Kristofer H — 25 Jan 2017

Proper Perspective: Another made-for-TV movie translated to the big screen with great performances, but really no reason for a wide release... The acting is great, the story is not overly compelling, and the execution is. Just. Fine...

Official Synopsis: The story of Ray Kroc, a salesman who turned two brothers' innovative fast food eatery, McDonald's, into one of the biggest restaurant businesses in the world with a combination of ambition, persistence, and ruthlessness.

Plot: A man who has a lot ideas, failed or middling ideas, Ray Kroc finally has the idea that will make him rich. The hitch, it is not his idea. Kroc uses his persistence to steal McDonald's from two brothers in San Bernardino, California and find loopholes in the system to get away with the coup.

Take: As of late there seem to be two types of non-fiction films as of late; a slightly above average movie with great acting that gets a wide release versus finding their natural home on television and the overly fabricated takes on true events that can be offensive. The Founder is more the former.

Michael Keaton is great as Ray Kroc, Nick Offerman and John Carol Lynch as the McDonald Brothers, and the then the rest of the cast is not fleshed out enough to really talk about.

B.J. Novak, Linda Cardellini, Laura Dern, and Patrick Wilson are all in the movie in small roles.

The reason to see this movie is Keaton. He is in a career renaissance coming off Birdman, Spotlight, and now The Founder. He does everything he can to make Kroc likeable, but also has the ruthlessness in his eyes to make sure you realize that he was not a through and through good guy. He was willing to do everything and everything to make an empire, mortgaging his home without his wife knowing, trading in his wife for a more ambitious (younger) woman, and 100% whole heartedly screwing over two brothers out of their small slice of life.

The directing is passable, the writing is fine, and the story-telling is above average. Basically this would have been an above average TV movie, but since it was released in theaters it is a below average movie movie.

Recommendation: Catch this one on Netflix or Amazon or Redbox in a few months. It is not going to be in theaters long and is not an "awards" movie that you need to see. Having said that if you want to support the Keaton Comeback then check this one out before it is out of theaters.

It was odd seeing the creep from the office that had "ideas" that led to almost destroying a company be the one to give Kroc the advice that led to building an empire... Life is about balance, temp.