The Founder
Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) is a struggling travelling salesman, failing to convince numerous businesses to purchase his milkshake mixers. He receives an order from Maurice and Dick McDonald (John Carroll Lynch and Nick Offerman) for eight mixers for their San Bernadino restaurant. Kroc elects to pay them a visit and is dumbfounded by the lightning fast production of burgers and fries. The McDonald explain to him the history of the enterprise and how they became "an overnight sensation 30 years in the making". Kroc proposes to franchise the business.
The rest of course, is history. How much you get along with The Founder probably depends on how much you enjoy things like seeing men argue over the composition of milkshakes on screen. Fortunately, I like that sort of thing which is just as well as Dick and Ray slamming the phone down on each other becomes a recurring aspect of the film. There's something of Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation in Offerman's depiction, of a man certain of his principles and reluctant to compromise. Lynch has a nice line in earnestness, convinced that he can see the good in Kroc despite his attempts to wrest control of the business away from the brothers.
Keaton's performance is a subtle one, as Kroc slowly develops from a desperate man seeking inspiration from motivational speeches in the opening act to a hard nosed businessman. The Founder is relatively even handed about the ethics of all this. If Kroc wants to repurpose musings on persistance, or take another man's wife, or profit enormously off the back of someone else's idea, then hey, it's all part and parcel of the American dream.
For what is essentially a Ray Kroc biopic, his personal life is glossed over somewhat. His wife Ethel (Laura Dern) seems poorly developed, expressing occasional misgivings about his business dealings whilst apparently mostly concerned with preserving her social status at a local dining club. But the cut throat world of business is the film's main concern and it makes for intriguing viewing.
The rest of course, is history. How much you get along with The Founder probably depends on how much you enjoy things like seeing men argue over the composition of milkshakes on screen. Fortunately, I like that sort of thing which is just as well as Dick and Ray slamming the phone down on each other becomes a recurring aspect of the film. There's something of Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation in Offerman's depiction, of a man certain of his principles and reluctant to compromise. Lynch has a nice line in earnestness, convinced that he can see the good in Kroc despite his attempts to wrest control of the business away from the brothers.
Keaton's performance is a subtle one, as Kroc slowly develops from a desperate man seeking inspiration from motivational speeches in the opening act to a hard nosed businessman. The Founder is relatively even handed about the ethics of all this. If Kroc wants to repurpose musings on persistance, or take another man's wife, or profit enormously off the back of someone else's idea, then hey, it's all part and parcel of the American dream.
For what is essentially a Ray Kroc biopic, his personal life is glossed over somewhat. His wife Ethel (Laura Dern) seems poorly developed, expressing occasional misgivings about his business dealings whilst apparently mostly concerned with preserving her social status at a local dining club. But the cut throat world of business is the film's main concern and it makes for intriguing viewing.
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