The Founder (Part 2)

The Founder (Part 2)

Don't say Kroc three times or he will appear and give you burger and fries.  

No, this movie has nothing to do with DS9 or Odo.

While the movie does take some time to show us the McDonald brothers, the movie more about Ray Kroc . Croc was the man behind taking the McDonald's model and making it a franchise across the US. Kroc himself is a character of his own. So, you have to find someone that can fit the role of Kroc.

Michael Keaton does a really good job playing the main character. Kroc is a businessman, but also a bit of a blue-collar type of guy. As the movie progresses, he gets more and more evil and quite frankly turns into a bastard toward the end of the movie. The movie sort of tricks us into cheering for this former milkshake-mixer salesmen. It then shows us his darker side. Keaton handles both sides of this character extremely well.

At first, we kind of feel bad for him when he's just a salesman. As his power grows and grows, you can see the true meaning of this character and that all along he was a bad guy and he had planned on screwing over the McDonald brothers from the get-go.

Of course, Keaton does play a real person and this person was technically the founder of McDonald's but only in expanding the company and copying the brothers' production model. I have a sneaking suspicion that this movie is probably more true to the way Kroc really acted. I believe the movie wasn't embellishing everything that was happening behind the scenes.

There are few problems. Anytime the movie deals with Kroc's wife, the movie comes to a screeching halt. None of the home scenes really works for me and felt like a cliche from a 90s movie. All of the Laura Dern scenes fell flat to me.

I really didn't need to learn about Kroc's home life and it felt forced. The scenes felt added on at the last minute. There are also hints of him stepping out on his wife which really did not work for me either. I want to learn more about McDonald's and not his wife doubting him or him flirting with women. The movie is at its best when it deals with the franchise and the ideas behind the expansion of the franchise.

Overall, the Founder is incredibly enjoyable the movie. I have to recommend this little movie. Despite a few pacing issues, the movie is a nice peek into the founding of the first truly huge fast-food franchise chain. These decisions in the movie reshaped the way food was prepared and tasted even today. Keaton is outstanding and the McDonald brothers are fun to watch. Above all else, this movie makes me want to go out and get a couple of cheeseburgers and some fries.

Grade: B+