The Founder

The Founder

Rating 7 out of 10

I have heard all kinds of rave reviews about this movie and wanted to see it.  That turned out to be difficult as it did not get a wide release and was hard to find even with 50+ movie screens near my house.  I found it playing at a Regal theater that I generally don't care for (I'm spoiled now with the reclining comfortable seats and drink refills at NCG).  After viewing I understand why it got the great reviews and also why it is not playing on many screens and has a low box office total.

The Founder is about the beginning of the restaurant chain McDonalds back before there were any national chains.  Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) is a low level milkshake maker salesmen.  It's rare for him to sell one maker to a normal mom and pop burger joint it draws his attention when a place in California orders eight.  He makes the drive from the midwest out to the West Coast to see for himself.  It's amazing how the McDonald brothers have turned a normal long wait visit into an assembly line burger making perfection.

Kroc sees franchising gold.  The problem is the two brothers are far more interested in running their one story very well than making lots of money.  They allow Kroc to start franchising the McDonalds with many limitations.  Eventually Kroc takes control (not always ethically) and takes McDonalds to history.

The movie is interesting although it tends to be on the slow side.  It's like making a movie about building a house and spending fifteen minutes on digging the perfect foundation for the concrete.  It could have moved a little faster.  Michael Keaton is fantastic.  It is unbelievable that he won an Oscar for the terrible Birdman and didn't even get a nomination for this movie.  I was entertained.  This will be a great rental.

On a side note this movie brought back memories of little Royce in 1st Grade taking a field trip to the State Capitol in Oregon and the whole class got to go to this NEW restaurant called McDonalds.  Even though that was a hundred years ago I can remember the excitement in my teachers voice that we were getting to go there.  I am also thinking that we only took 50 cents to buy a burger, fries and small coke.  Back then burgers were only 15-20 cents.  I thought I went to heaven and had the best burger ever.