20 minutes into The Founder, Michael Keaton is pacing in the parking lot of a Southern California burger stand waiting for the owners to arrive.  There’s nothing remarkable about his pacing or the fact that he is doing it in the parking lot of a burger stand.  In fact Keaton paces and performs similar affects in the first 20 minutes of the movie as he portrays an impatient man with big dreams who at 52 is relegated to selling milkshake multi-mixers to diner drive-in managers half his age.

But this time its different, Keaton who’s pitch perfect performance as uber salesman/marketer Ray Kroc has finally hit on something that he believes is nothing short of the “new American church” – and its “pastors” are Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch as Richard “Dick” and Maurice “Mac” McDonald.

The fast food industry in 1954 was anything but fast and most of the establishments of that day struggled to generate a profit.  Frequented by teenagers and slick greasers with little cash and held back by inefficient carhops that served inconsistently prepared food – it was anything but a family friendly environment.

Dick and Mac McDonald changed all that with a humble offering on a small plot of land in San Bernardino, California.  They developed a thriving business by narrowing down the menu, replacing all the china and flatware with paper, sending the carhops packing and asking customers to wait in line.  What they offered in return was a consistent product, delivered fresh and hot into the customers left hand while their right hand was still reaching in their pocket for the 35 cents to pay for the meal.

When Kroc gets an order for six multi-mixers he figures its a mistake.  How can a burger stand, in a one horse California town, need to make 30 milk shakes at once?   Kroc –  “I’ve got an order here for 6 multi-mixers.” Dick McDonald – “Yea that was a mistake.” Kroc – “I figured as much.” Dick McDonald – “Better make that 8.”  And with that, Keaton’s character drives half way across the country, does a lot of parking lot pacing and every second of it is captivating.

Michael Keaton who has been on a run with terrific performances in films such as Birdman and Spotlight hits the trifecta with his portrayal of the doggedly persistent Ray Kroc.  Despite his age and modest success before meeting the McDonald Brothers, Ray Kroc was not your average salesman.  Years and years of swings and misses which might have mellowed others never stopped Kroc.  He remained fiercely competitive and at times even ruthless, telling Mac McDonald – “If my competitor was drowning I’d run over and stick a garden hose down his throat” and with a pause that only Michael Keaton can do he asks McDonald “Can you say the same?”  Keaton, in fact, nails this dimension of the fast food mogul who made McDonald’s a household name across the globe.

Famous not for inventing the fast food burger but for his idea of integrating it into the American way of life, he appears to channel Kroc and present his value proposition in a no holds barred performance.  His pitch to the McDonald brothers which presents a vision of a McDonald’s restaurant in every town, just like churches and courthouses is awe inspiring.  With laser focused eyes, a cadence that leaves you exhausted and fingers that point to non existent imagery above him, he delivers a convincingly powerful concept; “FLAGS! CROSSES! CROSSES! FLAGS!” and if that’s not enough, with arms and hands outstretched he delivers the close – “Arches boys, Golden Arches.  Right there… next to the crosses and the flags.”  Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch, eyes wide open and jaws slack with wonderment not only portray the McDonald brothers but also acted as proxies for this reviewer who was left in awe by Keaton’s performance.

There’s a lot of drama and story complexities here, from Kroc mortgaging his home to fund his first McDonalds to the creation of the Franchise Realty Corporation. The brainchild of Harry Sonneborn, well played by B.J. Novak, it effectively boxed out the McDonald brothers.  But none of it ever drags and that’s a testament to John Lee Hancock and his well paced directing

With Keaton’s home run and Offerman and Lynch’s solid performances, it’s easy to forget the remaining cast but Laura Dern deserves much credit.  Her portrayal of Ethel Kroc, Ray’s dutiful and loyal first wife is delivered with an understated elegance and poise. It leaves you with a further appreciation of this actor’s skill and talent.  The dinner table scene with Keaton where her only line is “please pass the salt” before he tells her, matter of factly, that he wants a divorce, is all Ms. Dern – her expressions, motion and manner are pure movie star.

History has proven that despite his remarkable late in life success, Ray Kroc was not a very good person.  His single minded focus left a number of casualties among those he worked with, those who trusted him and those who loved him.  And while his competitive nature was clearly responsible for turning McDonalds into the global restaurant powerhouse it became, for many years he falsely ordained himself the founder of the process upon which the company was built.  In doing so, he personally denied Richard and Maurice McDonald not only the recognition they deserved but hundreds of millions of dollars (perhaps even billions at this point) in royalties – to these innovators and their heirs.

When all is said and done, The Founder is an exceptionally good movie that doesn’t necessarily celebrate Raymond Kroc and in fact paints a portrait of Kroc that maybe only he could celebrate.  And while over the past few years McDonalds has been associated with everything that’s bad with America’s eating habits, its Golden Arches are indeed a symbol of America – its success and drive for innovation.   And in that respect we have Ray Kroc to thank for placing those arches among the many other ubiquitous symbols our country displays and holds near and dear – wherever and whatever they may be.