“The Founder” is a true story about how Ray Kroc, a traveling salesman from Illinois, met the brothers Mac and Dick McDonald and turned their small burger business into the huge franchise that it is today. When I saw the commercials for this movie, I instantly wanted to see it. Why wouldn’t you want to see how one of the biggest businesses in the world started? It was released in theaters on Dec. 16, 2016. The movie begins showing us the life of Ray Kroc as he’s trying to sell a milkshake maker to several restaurants, to no avail.So, he heads back to his apartment, where we learn that Ray has tried to sell several things in the past with the aspiration that one day he would make it big. Suddenly, Ray gets a phone call from his company letting him know that a small shop called McDonald’s has ordered several milkshake makers. To his disbelief, he heads for the restaurant. What he finds is the first burger joint to ever use the “Speedy System”. The “Speedy System” is a carefully laid out building where every employee can move in perfect motion and make food ready for the buyer in under 30 seconds. This inspires Ray to speak to the owners of the restaurant, the McDonald brothers, about turning it into a franchise. The brothers very cautiously agree to the idea and have Ray set up plans for the country-wide expansion. The drama between Ray and the brothers, along with all the decisions he makes to keep the company moving, makes the movie very entertaining, and it was great to see how this massive corporation came to be. The reviews for this movie are generally pretty good, and I feel the same way. I’d rate this movie four cardinal heads out of five. |