The Founder

It’s not often you see a biopic so refreshingly honest. This movie, charting the life and rise of Ray Kroc, the man behind the McDonald’s real estate (and also restaurant) empire, doesn’t shy away from the fact that Ray Kroc is a shithead that stole a business and a name from two brothers, and the wife of one of his franchisees. This is more of a “how it happened” biopic than idolizing its subject, and that’s a relief. While a movie like “The Greatest Showman” is visibly engrossing, it’s absolute obliteration of the truth is disheartening. “The Founder” is right up front about how Kroc (played to sleazy perfection by Michael Keaton) manipulates and massages the situation to his advantage, until he’s in a position to destroy what’s holding him back. It also shows how, in reality, Kroc was nothing more than a man standing on the shoulder of giants and proclaiming he’s tall; he doesn’t invent the efficient way McDonald’s produces burgers, he doesn’t come up with the idea to use a mix for milkshakes instead of ice cream, and he doesn’t come up with the idea to buy the land and lease it to the franchisee. Even his franchising idea isn’t new. The limit of his vision is seeing the value in McDonald’s as a brand. But his value is his relentless pursuit of success, a fact that the end of the movie brings up, almost as an insult to Kroc. If the movie has flaws, one is in its slavish adherence to the format of biopics. The format feels like every other biopic, which, given the movie’s warts-and-all presentation of its subject, feels weird. I don’t know how else it could’ve ended, but ending at the height of the man’s success feels off somehow. We don’t want to see this guy succeed, but that’s the story, so ... ???. The other major problem is the presentation of Ray’s first wife, who comes off much the same as Johnny Cash’s first wife in “Walk The Line”: the unsupportive shrew that weighs down the protagonist and never believes in them. It wasn’t true in “Line” and I doubt it was true here. Even if it was true, I’m sure she had more depth to her as a human being than “unsupportive”. It feels lazy and dishonest, and moreover, it accidentally makes Kroc seem sympathetic. It’s still a fascinating movie, though. Keaton carries the movie, but the supporting cast is more than up to the task, with Nick Offerman veteran character actor John Carroll Lynch giving genuine pathos to the brothers McDonald, who are abused and run out of business by the relentless juggernaut that is Kroc. The script is good, if a little light on Kroc’s personal life, but it’s never dull, and Keaton’s razor sharp personality is magnetic. You may not have an interest in Kroc’s story, or even enjoy eating at McDonald’s, but this story will intrigue you if you let it.