How about McDonalds?

McDonald's! McDonald's! What do you think about when I say McDonald's? I'm thinking about the yellow M, hamburgers and how there ALWAYS seems to be a McDonald's close by. And every McDonald's has the almost the same menu. Some of the food is local. But the biggest part is uniform all over the world. Tell me, is there anyone reading this who has néver eaten at McDonald's? I have no doubt that there will be people who haven't. But I expect that the majority of the people has tried it at least once. 

So... Have we changed Conmose in a food blog?  No. No worries ;), we're still writing about movies, series & conventions.

Then.. why am I mentioning McDonald's? Sig and I went to eat there! Yeah, I know that it's not very special. But it was for a special occasion! We were going to see the Founder!  The Founder is a movie about how McDonald's started. Sig and I decided to watch it in the cinema and thematically go to McDonald's before watching the movie!   We don't eat there often, so this was a nice excuse. 

The Founder is the story of Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton). Ray is a salesman. He sells milkshake makers. And that isn't going too well. But one day, there's a huge order. At first, he thinks it's a mistake. He double checks. But: the order is real! It's a restaurant called McDonald's. It's quite far away, but Ray decides to drive over there and take a look. He's impressed by what he sees. A well running business: with very fast service. He has never seen anything like that. People don't sit at a table and don't get served. They just order and receive it within minutes. And then just eat wherever they like. The owners are two brothers: Dick and Mac McDonald. Intrigued by this company, Ray asks the brothers to sit down and explain how they started their company. 

Ray turns home. But he can't let go of the idea of McDonald's. It's so unique! He has never seen anything like it. Then the idea pops up to make it a franchise. He talks to the brothers. They aren't enthusiastic. They like it just the way it is. And by the way: Been there done that. They were a few more McDonald's', but it was too hard to maintain the same quality and standards. So it's a no. But Ray does not take no for an answer. He thinks this could be a HUGE success. So he's not giving up. He goes back to the brothers. With a contract. And he convinces them. That's the start of McDonald's everywhere!   

Sig and I both liked the movie. There's never really any suspension or something very unexpected. But it is the story of McDonald's. It was just interesting to see. I think Michael Keaton did a wonderful job here. He's very convincing as Ray. The last movie of Michael Keaton I watched was Birdman. A movie everyone seemed to love but me. I just didn't like it at all. (Not because of Michael Keaton). But it's just nice to see him in a new role again. And he does it so well! 

I thought the main story line was average. It's just nice to know more about how McDonald's developed. The things that made this movie interesting to me were the details and smaller story lines. I loved the ambition of Ray. The way he failed and failed and failed and succeeded. And then: how do you handle success? How does that change you? He's hard working and he never gives up. But he's not really sensitive. He doesn't really look at how other people feel. He only has one goal: Success!  I loved to see that transition. From a man that people look down on: A not very successful salesman, to the owner of McDonald's, known worldwide. You see him take all the hurdles. But he doesn't stop believing. I love seeing stories about starting up businesses, failing & succeeding. There's a lot to learn there. And I love the focus on the social part as well: How far will you go to achieve your success? 

Another thing I thought was very interesting was Ray's relationship with his wife. He wife doesn't really like what Ray is doing. Yes, he does make enough money to pay for their house. But: he doesn't have any time for her. They never go the club anymore to meet their friends (who look down on Ray). She loves going to the club and wants more attention from Ray. Here's where Sig and I felt differently. Sig understood where the wife was coming from. She had seen him try over and over again all these years. She's done. She doesn't want another project. She just wants to be together. 

I didn't like the wife at all. I thought she was annoying and boring. Every time he came home, she was sitting there being angry. Yes, she had been there all these years. But now it seemed like she wasn't doing anything. At so many points I just thought that could have done it together. Start the business and make their way to success. As a couple. And Ray sees that at his locations of McDonald's. Some are run by ambitious couples. They're working together. Ray and his wife are growing apart. I loved the story line. And I was constantly irritated by his wife. Who was just playing to much of a victim in my eyes. 

The storyline of Ray vs the brothers could have been better in my opinion. For a big part, the movie is focusing on Ray. I would have loved to see more of Dick and Mac. They didn't seem to be involved in the franchise at all. They were just always complaining and saying no. And I get where they come from. But I would have loved to see to see a stronger force against Ray. It wasn't an equal battle. And maybe it wasn't like that for real either. But the movie felt a bit too much centered on Ray. If we could have seen a bit more of Dick and Mac's motives and passion it would make them stronger. More likable. I get why they often didn't agree with Ray. But I didn't feel the passion. It felt like they were exhausted. And they. just. did. not. want. it. 

All in all, I enjoyed watching it. It's fun to learn more about a huge company lie McDonald's. It's interesting to see how it developed. The actors are great and I really enjoyed some of the smaller story lines.