Yesterday I finally got a chance to see the movie "The Founder". I know that I am very late to this movie, but I have 2 young kids, and as I have said many times, it is hard to get out to the theaters. So, I have to wait to see most movies when they get released On Demand or via DVD/Blu Ray.

That being said, I had heard some pretty good things about the movie, and I am always interested in historical stories about how famous businesses came to be so famous. And, there is no business more famous, and I will debate anyone on this, than McDonald's Restaurants. They are literally everywhere. I can't drive down the main drag of my street without seeing, at the very least, 3 McDonald's within 15 miles of each other. So, when "The Founder" was released, my interest was piqued.

The story was great. How the McDonald brothers and Ray Kroc came to be friends, business partners and enemies, was very well told. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch as Dick(Offerman) and Mac(Lynch) McDonald, were wonderful. Lynch played the soft spoken, big dreaming brother so well. He had grand ideas and he would do anything to keep them alive. He also suffered from diabetes and had other health issues that would become a major hindrance in his life. Offerman was exceptional as the more focused, business educated brother. He had a system, he kept it in place, and he'd be damned if anyone wanted to change what his vision for what a successful restaurant could be.

Michael Keaton though, as Ray Kroc, was the unquestioned star of this movie. He was so evil, so crass, so rude, so cutthroat, so singularly focused on his vision. He was amazing. When the movie started he was a lowly milk shake machine salesman, and, the more evil he got, the more successful he became. The movie was based on a true story, and I don't know much of anything about Ray Kroc, but if this movie was a proper representation of Kroc, he was a total asshole. Keaton pulled this off perfectly. I felt bad for him at first, got excited when he teamed up with the McDonald brothers, got even more amped when he started to franchise the business and then started to hate him, and I don't like that word but it is needed here, when he started to branch out and do things on his own, going against the contract that he signed at the beginning of his partnership. He became a ruthless businessman that started to take way too much credit than he deserved, and he became way, way too big for his britches. He even went as far as to claim that he had the first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois, calling it McDonald's 1. What an asshole move to make. Prior to all that though, I enjoyed hearing Mac McDonald tell Kroc about how he and his brother finally landed on a good business after many failed attempts. I enjoyed watching Kroc struggle as a salesman trying to sell his milkshake making machine.

Outside of Keaton's performance, everything else in "The Founder" is equally awesome. I loved watching the scene where Dick McDonald explained how they managed to be the most efficient restaurant in the US at the time. I loved the time period. I like most movies that take place in the 50's. I enjoyed Laura Dern's performance as Kroc's wife. She was not loved and given the attention she deserved, but since it was the 50's, she stayed with him until he wanted to get divorced. I felt horrible for her. Linda Cardenllini was great as the wife of a restaurant owner, played by Patrick Wilson, who falls for Kroc, helps him with his acquisition of McDonald's and eventually marries him. Patrick Wilson was decent in his small role as the fancy restaurant owner who buys a McDonald's franchise. BJ Novak had a very good role as the guy that convinced Kroc to become a real estate agent as opposed to a franchise manager because that was where the money was to be made. Kroc was broke before he got into the real estate business. Real estate was also his way of getting out of his contract with the McDonald brothers. Of course Novak's character and Kroc stopped their partnership because Kroc is an ass.

This was a very well made movie with an excellent performance from Keaton. Michael Keaton is kind of having a "renaissance" of sorts. Ever since "Birdman", he has been in some good stuff. He has "The Founder", and coming out this week, he plays the villain in "Spiderman: Homecoming". I am a Keaton fan, so I'm glad he is showing up in some really good movies lately. I'm surprised he wasn't recognized by the Academy for this movie. That is how good I thought he was.

If you watch "The Founder" for anything, watch it for Keaton's performance. He is electric. But, I say watch the movie anyway because it is made very well. The story flows with ease and you really get to know the three main characters very well. I enjoyed "The Founder", and I think you will too. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is ready for the biopic telling the story of how Whataburger was started. Get on it Hollywood.

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