If the unhealthy food at McDonald's is not enough to reduce your visits, the portrayal of Ray Kroc in The Founder will surely turn you away from the company. Although I have eaten at Mcdonald's many times (too many times) in my life, I never knew the history of the fast food empire. Since I only have this film as a perspective of the franchise's history, I cannot tell if Ray Kroc was actually a complete sales shark or if this film is terribly biased towards one side of the story. The film basically claims that Kroc stole the restaurant company from Richard and Mac McDonald, which might be accurate. What started off as a family restaurant became a worldwide phenomenon based around the model of speed.
Although there are star actors in this one, the performances feel forced at times and never hit the depth of emotion of similar films. Coming off of vast success in Birdman, Michael Keaton seemed poised to take on any role as a lead actor. Unfortunately, this one was a miscast with Keaton forcing a personality that is fake. Hopefully this role won't lead him downwards from the peak of success, but I have high hopes for his role in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) and John Carroll Lynch (Gran Torino) are decent as the McDonald brothers, but their talents feel wasted with small parts. If there was a bit more heart in the script, there could have been a lot of room for fearless performances. Yet, The Founder falls far from similar pictures like The Social Network and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Another issue that I had with this film was the pace of events. The film opens with almost no backstory for Ray Kroc. Our minds are implanted with the fact that he is just a cheating salesperson. If I were given more outlook on his upbringing, I would have had more of a connection with the character. Nothing about this character is moral or good. Surely, there is another trait that we can at least appreciate about Ray Kroc. The film is rushed into paperwork signings and contracts, without stopping to show the audience the actual process of Kroc's success. He seemingly does nothing and succeeds, making him an even less likeable character.
The Bottom Line: A broken pace and forced acting create a boring look at the fast-food takeover that Ray Kroc committed.
Score: 6/10
Although there are star actors in this one, the performances feel forced at times and never hit the depth of emotion of similar films. Coming off of vast success in Birdman, Michael Keaton seemed poised to take on any role as a lead actor. Unfortunately, this one was a miscast with Keaton forcing a personality that is fake. Hopefully this role won't lead him downwards from the peak of success, but I have high hopes for his role in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) and John Carroll Lynch (Gran Torino) are decent as the McDonald brothers, but their talents feel wasted with small parts. If there was a bit more heart in the script, there could have been a lot of room for fearless performances. Yet, The Founder falls far from similar pictures like The Social Network and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Another issue that I had with this film was the pace of events. The film opens with almost no backstory for Ray Kroc. Our minds are implanted with the fact that he is just a cheating salesperson. If I were given more outlook on his upbringing, I would have had more of a connection with the character. Nothing about this character is moral or good. Surely, there is another trait that we can at least appreciate about Ray Kroc. The film is rushed into paperwork signings and contracts, without stopping to show the audience the actual process of Kroc's success. He seemingly does nothing and succeeds, making him an even less likeable character.
The Bottom Line: A broken pace and forced acting create a boring look at the fast-food takeover that Ray Kroc committed.
Score: 6/10
Image credit: By Memorias22 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58336632
