Following in the steps of 2010’s The Social Network and a couple subsequent Steve Jobs knockoffs, The Founder — directed by John Lee Hancock, written by Robert D. Siegel, and starring Michael Keaton — is the latest biopic to attempt to successfully capture the ‘a-holish’ nature of a famous and powerful American capitalist. In this latest stab at the subgenre, Hancock and Siegel look at the rise of McDonald’s from a popular local restaurant in San Bernardino, California, to the nationally-known burger chain that it quickly became thanks to the hard work and vision of the McDonald brothers, combined with the determination and cutthroat capitalist maneuverings of Ray Kroc.
From a storytelling perspective, The Founder met every basic necessity for a film in its genre, but not much else. The linear narrative was coherent and never difficult to follow. Each character had clear motives and intentions they consistently acted in line with, and the dialogue never veered into the realm of overly-expository. On the flip side of the burger, the script lacks any ambition in a thematic or emotional sense, essentially leaving Keaton with the burden of giving the movie a dramatic pulse.
Luckily, Keaton takes the heavy workload in stride and delivers a high-energy performance as Ray Kroc that doubles as both entertaining and emotionally resonant — if I were a pretentious Hollywood critic, I’d be inclined to label it a "tour de force." Alongside him are several decently recognizable faces, most notably Laura Dern as Kroc’s neglected first wife, and a funny and lovable-as-ever Nick Offerman as one half of the McDonald brothers, shockingly sans facial hair. Other slightly memorable faces are only there to make you wonder where you’ve seen them before include John Carroll Lynch (Gran Torino) as Mac McDonald, Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks) as Joan Smith, Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) as Rollie Smith, and BJ Novak (The Office) as Harry Sonneborn.
The Founder is by all means a fine little movie, complete with a competently told narrative, a well-timed and never-forced sense of humor, and a seemingly genuine interest in its source material. But while Hancock and Siegel were content with making a solid C+ movie, Michael Keaton put forth a truly stand-out performance that captured every intricacy of Kroc’s obsessively ambitious personality, endearing and (mostly) otherwise. It felt like a huge missed opportunity for a movie that could have, with loftier expectations of itself, reached the heights of Oscar-recognized biopics in years past.
3 1/2 stars (out of five)
