The Founder - Review

Not once has a movie made me so hungry in my entire life. I have seen this movie twice now and every time I have, I crave a McDonald's hamburger. They truly are amazing aren't they? Well, enough about my McDonald's cravings and let's talk about the actual movie. This movie is excellent at sucking you in and becoming so fascinated at the story it's telling. At the centre of it all is Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, the 'founder' of McDonald's.

I can't remember a movie where I both loved and hated the protagonist at the same time as much as Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc. Maybe Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street, but i digress. Michael was absolutely the perfect casting as this role. He has the charisma that makes you really like him and actually want him to succeed at growing the McDonalds label. But the other hand, he is truly a ruthless business man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even if that means backstabbing old business partners or even family members. It is a truly fascinating mix. You hear the passion in his voice for the business he truly loves which makes you route for him, but then he will do something so morally unethical that you would want to wash your hands right after you shake his. Michael Keaton does a terrific job at capturing both sides of this man. He really is an 'evil genius'.

This film was also directed by John Lee Hancock who directed Saving Mr. Banks. Both movies are extremely similar in terms of the technical aspects and the overall tone. Both movies are about true stories, but they are not told in a sterile dramatic environment, they are told like fairytales. Of course, a movie about the making of a Disney movie would warrant that kind of tone, but here, it works surprisingly well. McDonald's as a restaurant really does have a wild story about how it came to be and the whimsical fairytale approach worked. When both of the McDonald brothers were telling Ray Kroc about their journey just to get to the first functional McDonald's fast food joint, it is told Ray, and us the audience in a way that is very similar to a mother or father telling their children a bedtime story, which makes it all the more tragic when Ray Kroc manipulates the system to take complete and total control of the McDonalds corporation.

Now this approach to the storytelling might be considered a bit too cheesy for some people, but I think that is what the film was going for and what gives it it's charm. This story mainly takes place in the 50's and 60's and everybody has that, "Golly mister! These cheeseburgers are sure fine and dandy!" type of old American presence to them. While some people might find that a bit too hard to take seriously, but McDonalds has become a staple of America. So to tell this story like a folktale gives it a certain charm that is very nice. The production design, the costumes, the hair and makeup, and the feel of the 50's is something John Lee Hancock can do very well and it's great to see here.

I believe films should begin discussion and conversation. I talked about this movie with my friends all the way to the nearest McDonald's after we walked out of the theatre. If a movie has me so invested that I talk about what I say for hours afterward and am curious enough to research the actual event, then the film really left its impact in a very good way. The Founder is a definitely worth a watch.