For me, I was never taken to McDonalds for treats as a kid. Over time, I have never been that bothered by going and eating their products. I have been there a few times. But I much prefer other fast-food outlets such as KFC or Subway. I would even prefer going to Burger King than McDonald's.
But when a film comes out telling the story of how it became the business phenomenon that it is today, you have to see it.
It is directed by John Lee Hancock, who I have liked for Saving Mr. Banks, and not liked for The Blind Side. But with Michael Keaton starring in it, and the trailers looking quite appealing. That was enough for me to pay good money and see what's what.
I remember this originally being scheduled for a summer release. Then it got pushed back to the winter. That immediately indicated it to be a possible Oscar contender. But with much stronger films coming out, it then got pushed even further back to February.
I knew bits about the story before going into it. I knew that the McDonald's brothers were effectively shunned out, and this Ray Kroc character made it what it is.
After watching it, I was quite amazed and heavily fascinated at what happened in the end. It moves alone at a nice pace and gives enough time to the important happenings of the birth of McDonald's becoming a franchise.
Michael Keaton plays his role very well. You first root for him, and the longer the film goes on for, the more you begin to not trust him at all. So he is definitely not your traditional protagonist.
Nick Offerman and and John Carroll Lynch as the McDonald's brothers were great. While none of it was flashy or awards worthy. They played their roles exactly how they should have done. It contributed well to the film and made it the interesting film that I ended up seeing.
I wish Laura Dern had more to do. Dern plays Kroc's wife, and I think more involvement in her character would have giving us more reason to see why someone as big as she is needed to be cast. But also, that is probably how Kroc's wife in real life was like at that time. Trying to get involved more.
Everyone else played their roles well. It was particularly nice to see Patrick Wilson and B.J. Novak make small appearances in this.
While you may hate the character in the end. It gives you some advice on how great businessman have to be in that world. You may to be a bit nasty and heavily persistent to get your own way. But that's what it has to take, to live your dream or take up something that you know will get you a lot of money.
It reminded me of the events in the 2010 film The Social Network, which explains how Facebook came about. Movie like that would be great to show business students, or even history students.
The negatives worth mentioning were only minor. The duration probably should have been a bit tighter. It lacked that bit of emotion to make you see this as a great film, rather than a good film.
Also, it told the story with broad strokes and some bits were a teeny bit under-the-nose.
But it was not enough to detract my enjoyment for the film.
It is a pretty good film that tells an important story of 20th Century America. The performances across the board contribute well to make this an entertaining watch. The script gives a decent amount of laughs at the right times.
I really liked the 1950's setting of it, you really do appreciate how revolutionary McDonald's was back in the 1950's and I was amazed at how dark it eventually got.
Whether or not the message at the end film was a bit unsure of itself, you will get hungry seeing this. It may not detract you from not going to McDonald's ever gain. But it will make you see it in a different light the next time you buy something from one of their chains.
Rating: 7/10
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