“I know what you’re thinking, how the heck does a 52 year-old, over the hill, milkshake machine salesman build a fast-food empire with 1600 restaurants and an annual revenue of 700 million dollars? One word: persistence.” ‘The Founder’ is a no-nonsense biography of the man that built the most successful fast-food chain in the world. It’s a fascinating look at how McDonald’s became so successful. It’s not just the name that feels so wholesome. Ray Kroc proclaims the mantra, “McDonald’s is family.” It was his genuine hope that his franchise might become as commonplace as a church or a courthouse in Small Town, USA. The secret sauce in ‘The Founder’ is Michael Keaton and it’s his masterful performance that makes it such an absorbing portrait of American capitalism.
The story begins showing Ray peddling a milkshake blender from one drive-in to the next. He gets rejected so often that he thinks it is a mistake when a customer in San Bernardino orders six of the milkshake mixers. How could they possibly need to make 30 shakes at a time? Ray decides to drive cross-country to San Bernardino and meet the two brothers Dick (Nick Offerman) and Mac (John Carroll Lynch) McDonald in person. When he sees the McDonald’s sign and the line of customers for the first time, he is mesmerized. He notices that their operation is vastly different from the burger stands in the Midwest. There are no car hops to take your orders. He must get out of his car and order at the window. When he orders a burger, fries and a coke, they hand him his order in a paper bag within seconds. Where do I eat it? says Ray. “Your car, the park, wherever you want,” says the fast food worker.
Ray takes the two brothers out to dinner in order to hear about their success story. They are more than happy to explain their “Speedee Service System.” They designed their restaurant to allow the greatest flow for cooking and assembling the food quickly. They use paper wrapping instead of plates and standardized their menu items to save on costs. Every burger gets ketchup, mustard, two pickles and a sprinkle of onions. It’s revolutionary to be able to make a burger in 30 seconds instead of 30 minutes. Ray sees the potential for growth and gives the brothers his best sales pitch. He declares, “Franchise the damn thing! There should be McDonalds everywhere, sea to shining sea. I could be growing this thing at twice the pace!” At first they are hesitant to partner with him due to the difficulty of maintaining quality control over the franchises. Eventually they sign a contract and Ray builds his first franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois.
Directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks) and written by Robert D. Siegel (The Wrestler), ‘The Founder’ is a captivating look at ambition and moral ambiguity. When Ray sees the real opportunity in McDonalds, it is not from the burgers but the real estate the restaurants are built on. He soon understands the importance of buying the land for the franchise outlets. He also takes out a copyright of the name to the brother’s dismay. Whether you see him as a villain or as an entrepreneurial genius is up to you. ‘The Founder’ is an American success story with some unfortunate casualties along the way. He dumps his loyal first wife, Ethel (Laura Dern) and steals another man’s wife, Joan (Linda Cardellini). Her cost-saving idea of using powdered milkshakes is the deal closer for Ray. At a high-end steakhouse, she takes a sip of the vanilla concoction that leaves a mustache on her red lipstick. When the brothers realize, “There’s a wolf in the hen house,” it’s too late. Ray negotiates a deal with the brothers to buy them out for $2.7 million in 1961. It’s the perfect corporate takeover.
It is hard to resist the underdog chasing after the American dream in ‘The Founder.’ The quandary is that without Ray’s dogged persistence McDonald’s would never have become a great American institution without him. The brothers were perfectly happy running their single operation. Sure it’s hard to watch them being left out in the cold but it was necessary for McDonald’s to become a global corporate superpower. Just like Ray Kroc was essential to McDonald’s success, Michael Keaton’s superb performance is the reason to see ‘The Founder.’
