The Founder (film): Let's talk about this fantastic biopic

I was recently contacted about attempting to get this community going again and I'm going to try to do exactly that. If I end up using the wrong tags at the end of this, that is something I will rectify in the future. This is all a work in progress after all. I will do my best to facilitate some interaction between people that are posting about their favorite (or least favorite) films and movies and I would appreciate it if others would do the same.

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MOVING ON. Let have a look at a wonderful film I stumbled upon last night

The Founder

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No matter where you live in the world you have almost certainly heard of and eaten at McDonalds. They are all over the world but there was a time when this restaurant and the entire concept of fast-food, wasn't a thing. It was one singular restaurant in San Bernardino, California that caught the eye of one man, Ray Kroc, who at the time was a struggling salesman who had been doing whatever job he could in order to make ends meet. He was selling milkshake machines when his secretary informed him that a single business had ordered 8 machines and Ray, presuming this was a mistake because "nobody needs 8 milkshake machines" decided to personally investigate what it is that these two brothers, the McDonald's brothers could possibly have going on to justify such a purchase.

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In this short montage of sorts we get to see what it must have been like for someone that had been alive when fast-food started to first be a thing. Kroc, after ordering a burger, fries, and a Coke, is standing blocking the line asking "what's this?" when the person at the window hands him his food after a mere 30 seconds of waiting. Think about it for a second? Imagine the confusion you would feel if you went to a place to order food that in the past would be made from scratch when you ordered it and it would take 20 minutes minimum all of a sudden to having this ready for you to eat almost immediately after you order it.

Ray Kroc is so intrigued that he insists on taking the brothers out to dinner so he can hear the story about how this became possible and this is where the brothers probably got a little to trusting and it would lead to their eventual demise.

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At dinner the McDonald brothers spill the entirety of their beans to Ray Kroc and hold nothing back. To them, they are just having a conversation with a man who is really enamored by their process they invented and Ray, well I don't think that Ray intended to set out to screw the two of them over, but as you will see when you watch this film, that is exactly what ends up happening as McDonalds got its start on becoming the largest restaurant chain the world has ever known and likely ever will.

The roles of McDonald brothers are brilliantly played by Nick Offerman - who we expect excellence from and John Carroll Lynch - who I think is one of the most underutilized actors alive today. It is probably because of his imposing size that he is quite limited in what roles he can play. Regardless, these two combined with Michael Keaton make for a very entertaining film that I can't believe manage to completely pass me by back in 2016 when it was released. You too might be thinking to yourself that you didn't know this movie existed and you wouldn't be alone.

Despite having the power of the Weinstein Company behind its release as well as one of the most well-known actors of our age as the star, this movie likely failed to even break even at the box office. Much of this has to do with the Weinstein Company releasing another film called Gold at around the same time despite a clause in their contract that said they would not do so. This resulted in a $15 million lawsuit and I have no idea if they won it or not. The irony isn't lost on me though because just like the McDonald brothers as they are depicted in the film, the lower production company FilmNation Entertainment put a bit more trust in the Weinstein group than they probably should have.

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This film will keep you captivated the entire way through. It wasn't always sunshine and rainbows for Kroc, who experienced many hurdles along the way, many of which nearly resulted in his financial ruin as well as the end of McDonalds. He persevered though and have a look around your own city right now and count the success that he has managed. According to multiple websites the way in which the information is presented here is extremely accurate because it had to be. McDonalds was not going to allow a film to be released that in any way presented their corporation in a negative light, so the director, writers, and producers had the tread very carefully to avoid getting sued into oblivion by the actual McDonald's corporation.

I think this movie will appeal to everyone because let's face it, we all know McDonalds, whether we want to admit it or not. Plus, the fact that historical accuracy was enforced means that you are not getting any sort of suss film that just glorifies everyone involved. We get to see the good and bad of all people involved and in the end, a lot of what happens is very tragic and I believe you will agree.

Should I watch it?

If you haven't already done so, and based on box office figures you probably haven't, then I would say absolutely yes! This is one of the few films that I have seen in 2024 that I never felt compelled to look at my phone and I paused it if I had to leave the room. I didn't want to miss anything that happened. It is extremely well-written and especially with the main characters, they are cast absolutely perfectly. Young or old, this very informative movies is one of the best-made biopics that I have seen in a long while.

_{The only place I can find where it is possible to stream this for free is FreeVee or TubiTV and that comes with ads. It can be legally rented or purchased on almost any other major streaming platform. It is not available on Netflix}