The Founder

Name: The Founder
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Released: January 20, 2017
Duration: 115 min
Rating: 66
Cast: B.J. Novak, John Carroll Lynch, Justin Randell Brooke, Katie Kneeland, Laura Dern

2017

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 47 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 210 Ratings

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7.4

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7.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 210 Ratings

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The Founder

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Movie Details & Credits

Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: January 20, 2017 | PG-13

Starring: B.J. Novak, John Carroll Lynch, Justin Randell Brooke, Katie Kneeland, Laura Dern, Linda Cardellini, Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, Patrick Wilson

Summary: The true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers' speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company fromThe true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers' speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.… Expand

Director: John Lee Hancock

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, History

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 115 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Richard Roeper

Jan 17, 2017

It’s some of Keaton’s finest work. It’s also the first great movie I’ve seen in 2017. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Jan 17, 2017

The Founder is an absorbing and unexpectedly subtle movie about the genesis of the McDonald’s burger empire. Read full review

Rex Reed

Jan 25, 2017

A saucy, twinkling star performance by Michael Keaton make this one of the must-see entertainments of the year. Read full review

Bill Goodykoontz

Jan 19, 2017

The Founder, John Lee Hancock’s film about Ray Kroc, is kind of a mess, which makes it perfect for the current political climate. Read full review

IndieWire Eric Kohn

Dec 7, 2016

If The Founder comes up short of providing a satisfactory dramatization of its main storyline, at least it peels back the veil with sufficient intrigue. Yet it still leaves the sour impression that Kroc got the last laugh. Even in this less-than-flattering portrait, he remains its brightest star. Read full review

Jamie Neish

Feb 16, 2017

The Founder is a solid biopic but not one that will go down in history - unlike the multi-million dollar-making fast food chain at its core. Read full review

Elise Nakhnikian

Dec 7, 2016

Michael Keaton's powerful performance in The Founder is marooned in a wishy-washy story. Read full review

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User Reviews

Val-835

Apr 1, 2017

What is so fascinating about this story is the interesting twist it brings about success. And how elusive and strange the goddess of fortune really is.
Ray Kroc may listen all he wants about "persist-ency and determination" but in the end it's all luck, more luck and a lot of unethicalWhat is so fascinating about this story is the interesting twist it brings about success. And how elusive and strange the goddess of fortune really is.
Ray Kroc may listen all he wants about "persist-ency and determination" but in the end it's all luck, more luck and a lot of unethical behavior.
A must see for all those "experts" in the science of success. And the countless books they write on the subject.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

jonh

Feb 2, 2017

Had very few expectations for this movie, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Keaton is outstanding, and the whole cast is generally very strong, in a well-told story that touches on various themes lightly but very adeptly in my view. Strong impact.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

liamexe

Aug 20, 2022

You should absolutely check it out; after seeing it, I was tempted to go have a McDonald's. And it may be on its way as you read this review so just know your missing out.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TVJerry

Jan 27, 2017

Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, a struggling salesman who discovers an innovative fast food concept created by Mac and Dick McDonald. While challenging the brothers' control, his determination and drive expanded the chain. The rest is restaurant history. Keaton's complex performance isMichael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, a struggling salesman who discovers an innovative fast food concept created by Mac and Dick McDonald. While challenging the brothers' control, his determination and drive expanded the chain. The rest is restaurant history. Keaton's complex performance is twitchy and manic, not exactly a sympathetic character, but an admirable one. The story manages to convey the fascinating developments with a lively pace. In addition to teaching the details of this impressive success story, the film centers around Keaton's dynamic creation.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

EpicLadySponge

Jan 20, 2017

There's two types of people about McDonald's. One is the lover and the other one's the hater. McDonald's lovers will find a big meal to find in its forsaken history, but haters will have to find their way to yuck things out while actually enjoying how great this film is thanks to the crewThere's two types of people about McDonald's. One is the lover and the other one's the hater. McDonald's lovers will find a big meal to find in its forsaken history, but haters will have to find their way to yuck things out while actually enjoying how great this film is thanks to the crew and of course Michael Keaton.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Spangle

May 21, 2017

A mesmerizing horror film, The Founder is the clearest depiction of modern day America ever put to film. While a clunky work, director John Lee Hancock's depiction of Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) swooping in, stealing McDonald's from its rightful owners, passing it off as his own, screwingA mesmerizing horror film, The Founder is the clearest depiction of modern day America ever put to film. While a clunky work, director John Lee Hancock's depiction of Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) swooping in, stealing McDonald's from its rightful owners, passing it off as his own, screwing those brothers over, and then really sticking it to them to squash them entirely, The Founder plays out like a modern day depiction of capitalism. With the little guy getting screwed over in the name of corporate's bottom line, America has been plagued with this rapidly decreasing middle class while the rich only get richer. In this film, Hancock puts this on full display in a terrifying depiction of smart business practices at the expense of human kindness and empathy. Instead, it is win at all costs and allow the losers to bathe in a tub of their own blood.

In an excellent performance, Keaton plays the hard working and hard-nosed shark that was Ray Kroc brilliantly. He is a dreamer who will stop at nothing to have everything he could ever hope to think about. From creating a multi-billion dollar corporation out of merely seeing the name "McDonald's" to leaving his wife after one glance of a new woman who captures his eye, nothing happens quickly for Kroc but it always happens. No matter what he does, he is always thinking twenty steps ahead and is clearly a brilliant businessman. While many of his ideas are handed to him, he builds them up and is able to capitalize on the ideas given to him. Sometimes, in life, it is not originality that reaps rewards. Rather, it is being willing and able to execute an idea, whether it is yours or not. Here, Kroc does exactly that and takes every idea over the goal line with brilliant precision and persistence. Unfortunately, in doing so, he tramples over everybody who gets in his way or he perceives as getting in his way even if they are just innocent bystanders.

It is this negativity that creates the central conflict of The Founder. Ray Kroc may be a brilliant businessman, but he is a horrible husband and person to be in business with. He is cut throat and not afraid to let his eyes wander to new possibilities. Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman) realizes this quickly, but sticks with the deal because of the urging of Mac McDonald (John Carroll Lynch). Unfortunately, Kroc is a carnivore. He feeds on fresh meat and seeks to sink his teeth into whatever competition he can find. Turning on everybody in his life throughout the course of the film, The Founder is greatly negative towards its subject and is unafraid to extensively highlight the flaws in his character. No matter how smart he was and how much of a visionary he could be, it is impossible to ignore the fact that Ray Kroc was a mostly bad man who was unnecessarily cruel to everybody who did him wrong in his eyes.

The part that does hold back The Founder, however, is a problem inherent in many biopics. Director John Lee Hancock is simply unable to blend his subject's professional life with his personal life. While showing many of the same traits in his personal life, especially with how he just dumps Ethel (Laura Dern) for a new wife when she offers him more in that moment, the film always seems to come to a halt. Compared to personal indulgences in films such as There Will Be Blood or The Social Network, both cited as influences on the work, The Founder is never able to make it gel. Thematically, they work, but for the film's pacing and plot it always feels like stomping on the breaks in favor of taking an undesirable detour. There is no flow or cohesion as a result of these scenes that just distract from the story of McDonald's being stolen from the brothers. Instead, it turns into too much backstory about Ray Kroc and not enough about the film's true victims. The scenes, especially Dern's Ethel, feel like filler and Hancock just checking off a box from the biopic formula checklist, instead of being a section of the film he is interested in at all. Had he been interested in exploring Ethel and Kroc's personal life, their divorce would have been more important and he would not have just jumped to him having married Joan (Linda Cardellini), who was actually his third wife, not his second. The film never actually embraces exploring Kroc's at home life to the point, which is a shame since it is in the film. Featuring an excellent performance from Michael Keaton in the central role, The Founder may not be 2016's The Social Network, but it is a terrifying exploration of the death of the middle class and rise to power of individuals with questionable morals. It indulges into Ray Kroc's personal life far too much to be sure, but its unflinching damnation of its central character and lack of fear in showing his negative qualities, makes the film a rarity in the biopic genre. A chilling, entertaining, compelling, and entirely revealing look behind the true story behind McDonald's, John Lee Hancock's The Founder is a very strong work.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

BaldAndDrunk

Aug 15, 2020

Bland biopic with nothing interesting to say or any interesting direction. Even Keaton can't save this one. Yawn.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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84	#84 Most Discussed Movie of 2017
93	#93 Most Shared Movie of 2017