The Founder

John Lee Hancock loves making films based on true stories. I have seen "The Rookie" and "The Blind Side" (an Academy Award Best Picture nominee) but my favorite film of his to date is "Saving Mr. Banks". When I saw his name on the movie poster for "The Founder" in the summer of 2016, I got excited. This is yet another film hoping to replicate the success of "The Social Network" and it had a lot of big names working on it like lead actor Michael Keaton and the Weinstein brothers as producers. I am confused as to why "The Founder" took so long to be released. One ad set the release date in August of 2016 and it appears as though the film was pushed back for a December release. Then the film wasn't given a general release until January 2017. I will say that the movie was worth the wait. The biggest reason among a few as to why I didn't give "The Founder" a higher rating is because the best part of the movie is the opening thirty minutes. I did however enjoy the design and editing. The real life story of Ray Kroc and Dick & Mac McDonald isn't as contentious it seems but the level of drama in the movie was such that I was entertained while watching the majority of film.

Fun fact: the real Ray Kroc met Walt Disney when they were both trainees during World War I. I like the way we are introduced to Ray as he tries to sell milkshake mixers. His philosophy of creating a large supply to generate demand will come to be a big part of the story later on. As we are introduced to Ray, the audience is also introduced to a world without fast food. Orders are served in dishes and take longer than they should to arrive for example. Because of the introductory scenes, the phone call that Ray makes to the McDonald brothers gets us pretty excited. Ray cannot understand why they need so many mixers until he arrives at the restaurant. Verbally and visually, we are taught how revolutionary fast food was back in the 50's as Ray waits in line, places his order and eats his food. The assembly line for the first time has been applied to the restaurant business. I love the montage showing the McDonald's back story with the photos and tennis court. The editing really stuck out to me in this scene and in later scenes with Ray, Mac and Dick talking on phones. Ray's first problem once he becomes head of franchising is that he has burned a lot of bridges as a salesman because everyone remembers him and won't take fast food seriously. Ray's persistence pays off while the original McDonald's Restaurant never changes throughout the movie. The scene in the bathroom between Ray and Dick is very important in creating a climax to the story. One shot at the end of the movie is pretty powerful. The camera is focused on the milkshake mixer that started everything and then refocuses on the McDonald brothers in the background. The brothers however are looking at something else. As I hinted before, this film started off very positive but ended on a downer. Normally, that would be a huge flaw but the beginning of "The Founder" is so captivating that it makes up for the ending. This fault however is why I didn't rate this show higher on my scale. Most of the negativity of the story towards the end of the film stems from what happens in Ray's personal life.

Michael Keaton was a great choice in this role. He carries much of the film but he was surrounded with a nice supporting cast. There were some familiar faces. I only know John Carroll Lynch's work from the late 90's, both on TV and the movie screen. I recognized Patrick Wilson from "The Phantom of the Opera" and B.J. Novak from "Saving Mr. Banks". Laura Dern's part wasn't worthy of her however. I would like to point out quickly the good design work. The costumes and other visual elements really sold the 50's quite well. "The Founder" does contain the line, "Good things come to those who wait" but it is ironic. Ray gets to the finish line by not waiting. Instead, he pushed ahead much faster than the original founders wanted. Unlike "The Social Network" however, "The Founder" isn't as good by the end as it was towards the start. Dramatic license was taken in some places but it served to create the level of drama we subconsciously require. I made sure to pick up a Big Mac on the way home from the movie by the way.

4 Stars out of 5