The Founder
Starring Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman
Directed by John Lee Hancock
The true story of how one man duped a pair of blue collar brothers and created a multi-billion dollar fast food empire unfolds in John Lee Hancock’s The Founder. Michael Keaton (enjoying a meteoric comeback with Birdman, Spotlight, and the forthcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming) stars as Ray Kroc, a struggling Illinois salesman trying to sell milkshake mixers across America’s heartland in the 1950s. After an unusually large order is placed, he heads to California only to find a tiny burger joint being run by siblings Mac (John Carroll Lynch) and Dick (Nick Offerman) McDonald. Kroc is immediately impressed with their speedy service and sets his sights on franchise opportunities; the McDonalds are a little reluctant. At this point, things get juicier than a Big Mac as the shrewd capitalist slowly finagles the company to create his own legacy.
Keaton is sensational in the complex, multi-layered role; you know he’s a bit shady but his gritty determination makes you want him to succeed. The real sympathies, and heart, of the story lie with Mac and Dick. Lynch and Offerman are excellent in their respective roles as one remains naively optimistic and the other’s dire warnings go unheeded. Laura Dern is also particularly effective as Kroc’s wife, playing a steadfast but increasingly distant partner through her husband’s tumultuous financial dealings.
As far as biopics go, The Founder is mediocre in execution and contains a rather dry legalese-filled middle section, but there can be no denying Keaton’s riveting performance in an utterly compelling saga.
