I’ll admit that I’m a little bias. I will watch anything Michael Keaton does. If you told me that Netflix was developing a series called “Michael Keaton Talks About His Breakfast” I would watch it. So when I heard that Keaton was taking on the real life role of Ray Kroc in the new movie “The Founder” I knew I had to check it out. And I’m glad I did.

“The Founder” tells the story of Ray Kroc who started out as a milkshake machine salesman and rose to head McDonald’s, the largest fast food franchise in the known world. The McDonald’s concept of fast food wasn’t actually developed by Kroc, but two brothers who had one hamburger stand in San Bernadino, CA. The McDonald brothers are played expertly in the film by Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch. They both seem to fit perfectly in the roles of these two genius men who came up with the concept of delivering food to the customer within 30 seconds of ordering. The movie did a great job of showing why this idea was so innovative in 1954. Most drive-ins had full blown silverware and plates and car hops to deliver to you. While all cute and nostalgic now, it was woefully inefficient. I really liked how the movie explained what made McDonald’s so different and special.

While Offerman and Lynch were both really good, the stand out star was definitely Keaton. He owned every scene he was in and really made you understand Kroc’s drive to succeed. Even when Kroc starting to screw over the McDonald brothers, I still couldn’t hate him. The most amazing part of this film was that it was all based on a true story. While I wouldn’t say you need to see this in theaters, it’s definitely worth a Redbox rental later on down the road.

8 powdered mix for milkshakes out of 10

-Craig