THE FOUNDER Review

Behind every real world success is a true story about how that success was achieved. Some provide a detailed account of a hero overcoming a parade of obstacles on the road to achievement, while others chronicle events where the main character is not a hero, but instead a driving force who left an array of human debris along the side of the road they forged while attaining success at any cost. THE FOUNDER is the latter.

In the vein of THE SOCIAL NETWORK, and the various films providing accounts of Steve Jobs path to success (honestly the made for TV movie THE PIRATES OF SILICON VALLEY is the best telling of the tale), THE FOUNDER, written by Robert D. Siegel & directed by John Lee Hancock, provides a historical account of how the multi-billion dollar McDonald’s empire came to be, and the people who were caught-up the whirlwind.

Michael Keaton stars as Ray Kroc, who, when we first meet him in 1954, is a Willie Loman-esque traveling salesman in the mid-west. He lives on the road hawking his wares, usually the latest invention you just can’t live without, which leaves his wife Ethel (Laura Dern) living an unsatisfactory, lonely life. Ray’s latest gateway to success is a five spindle milk shake machine which will allow restaurants to make more milkshakes faster. Nobody seems to understand the need to make five milkshakes at one time in 1954, and Ray is staring at yet another failure to launch. That is until a restaurant in San Bernardino named McDonald’s calls and orders 6 of his machines. Certain this is an ordering error, Ray contacts the restaurant for clarification. Do they really need 6? When he gets one of the owners on the phone, Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman), he changes his order to 8 machines. Smelling an opportunity, Ray travels all the way to San Bernardino to see just exactly why they would need 8 machines, and if there is a way to sell even more.

When Ray arrives, he meets Mac (John Carroll Lynch) and Dick McDonald, who are able to deliver fast food in 30 seconds in their McDonald’s Hamburger restaurant by using a personally designed system which speeds up the food delivery process through a series of specific station placement, and specially designed kitchen equipment. Ray immediately sees dollar signs, and after persistently approaching the brothers about franchising their creation, they finally agree to do business with him. A decision they come to regret as Ray begins to take more and more control of the company, and eventually finding a way to usurp them altogether.

For people like myself who enjoy films like WALL STREET, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET – films which explore true stories in the world of business and finance -- other than pulling back the curtain on America’s first ever fast food empire and how it came to be, what’s interesting about THE FOUNDER is the main character is not the protagonist. He feels like the protagonist in the early stages, and it’s clear he’s a visionary, and you root for him somewhat, but once his intentions become clear, there is no way you can identify with him and the rest of the film is like watching a tornado destroy everything in its path. Michael Keaton is great here, portraying Ray Kroc as someone who feels he’s entitled to success and anybody who has any misgivings is targeted and destroyed. Keaton strikes a nice balance in the role. Was Ray Kroc oblivious to the eventual consequences to his actions? Or was it the plan all along. Perhaps both.

Nick Offerman puts in a wonderful performance as Dick McDonald, the principled brother who pretty much created the fast food industry as we know it, and Offerman captures Dick’s disappointment perfectly as he watches his best of intentions perverted into a crass economic empire.

John Carroll Lynch is great in whatever he’s in, and possibly one of our finest character actors at the moment. He and Offerman balance off one another quite well, with Lynch representing hope, and Offerman representing doubt and cynicism.

A minor complaint, Laura Dern isn’t given much to do here, other than react in dismay as Ray continues his descent into the rabbit hole of success, eventually losing his way. Or, did Ray know where he was going the entire time? It would have been nice to see one more moral compass Ray ignores, especially one which was supportive of his efforts. But, then, perhaps the intention was for us to give her as much regard as Ray did. See her through his eyes. Old and inconsequential.

While most success stories offer us an account of a hero overcoming adversity to win the big game or win the big case, THE FOUNDER is a reminder that sometimes the success we the people benefit from came with a body count.

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