Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) was a traveling salesman. At the time he met the McDonald brothers, he was peddling a milkshake maker. He heard about their McDonalds restaurant in San Bernardino, California and had to see it for himself. What he saw was a masterpiece fast-food establishment created by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald (Nick Offerman and John Carrol Lynch). They had perfected a way of making and delivering fresh hamburgers, french fries, and drinks the way Henry Ford created the automobile assembly line. The Founder is the story of how Kroc insinuated himself into the business and ultimately pushed out the McDonald brothers.
For decades the McDonald family was waiting for someone to tell the story correctly. This is their story just as much as it is the story of Ray Kroc.
The McDonald brothers were all about quality control and making the walk-up establishment a family-friendly place. They provided fast, fresh food. But Kroc had other ideas. He wanted to take the business worldwide, but in doing so things got out of control. What the McDonald brothers built in San Bernardino became an empire, but the face of it was Ray Kroc, not the McDonald brothers. Keaton was nominated for an Academy Award for his intense performance of the man we all associate with the golden arches.
The bonus features on the Blu-ray combo pack take viewers behind the scenes of the film. With a time-lapse video, they see the actual McDonalds that were used in the movie being built. They also learn more about the production and the cast, as well as the people on which the characters were based.
Viewers might wonder whether Ray Kroc was a hero or a villain. In a sense, he was both. Without him, McDonalds would not be what it is today. But he did snuff out the originators of the company. His big head and lofty goals were far more than what the brothers imagined. When they went into business with him they were a bit ambivalent, but he calmed their fears. Little by little he wangled his way into the business world and assumed the leadership of the organization first started by the brothers.
Bring home a burger and fries and pop in this movie to see how this amazing business began and evolved and became a worldwide empire associated with America. The golden arches shine in The Founder.
