Hollywood usually portrays businessmen as unscrupulous ogres.
The Founder (2016), the story of Ray Kroc, is an eminently fair account of his making McDonalds the worldwide titan it is today. I caught up to it last night courtesy of Netflix. Michaek Keaton, now light years from the shtick that made him famous, continued his impressive run of serious roles. Kudos to director John Lee Hancock and screenwriter Robert Siegel for making the narrative interesting from start to finish. The business machinations are clear, understandable. I don't know if the story is historically accurate, but none of it is implausible. Kroc was not the originator of McDonalds. It was two brothers, wonderfully played by screen vets John Carroll Lynch and Nick Offerman, who preferred to stay local. Kroc created the empire that feeds, according to a blurb at film's end, 19% of the world. Did he screw his associates? In part, but each walked away with more than a million dollars after taxes. Laura Dern brings her usual excellence to the part of Kroc's first wife, as does Linda Cardellini as the more famous second, Joan. The scene I enjoyed most was the pair playing piano and singing Kroc's favorite song,
Pennies from Heaven, in a restaurant. The scenes of the original restaurant's efficiency are outstanding, fascinating. The flick flopped at the box office, which is not surprising, as it is not commercial material. Made on a budget of $25 million, its worldwide box office take fell more than a million short of that, which was probably recouped in DVD sales and rentals and streaming. 52,000+ users at IMDb have rated
The Founder, forging to a consensus of 7.2 on a scale of ten. I'd go a little higher. It runs less than two hours and, outside of a few cusses, would offend only anti-capitalists. Here's a quote from the movie: "I know what you're thinking. How's a milkshake salesman build a fast food empire with an annual revenue of $700 million? Persistence." Isn't that the requirement for any endeavor, including writing?
The NFL has suspended Cowboys' star running back Ezekiel Elliot six games for a pattern of boorish behavior toward women. I bet it will be reduced on appeal. Let's hope he learns his lesson. I'm not optimistic.
The floating book shop will not be in operation today, as I'm off to south Jersey for my great niece Danielle's birthday party.
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