If Netflix is the best streaming service for people to find movies that they may have missed in cinemas, it's only fitting that people would rediscover one literally called The Founder.
After being added to Netflix on Tuesday, August 15, The Founder immediately jumped up Netflix UK's most-watched movies list. At the time of writing it sits at number #4 in the list under Heart of Stone, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Son of Bigfoot.
Released in 2016, The Founder tells the true story of Ray Kroc, the American businessman who turned McDonald's from a friendly burger joint to one of the world's biggest franchises. It's based both on his own biography and unofficial ones of him.
Starring alongside Keaton are Nick Offerman (The Office) and John Carroll Lynch (The Drew Carey Show) as the two McDonald's brothers, Laura Dern (Jurassic Park) and Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks, ER) as two of Kroc's various wives and B.J. Novak (The Office US) as his financial consultant.
Unlike many recent company biopics like Air and Flamin' Hot, Kroc isn't shown as a hero but a villain, hurting his friends and screwing over those who aid him in order to get ahead. The fact that it's a true story makes it all the more gripping to watch, and it feels like a more realistic depiction of events than many of 2023's similar projects.
When The Founder was first released in 2016 it was a modest hit, outperforming box office expectations and also receiving glowing reviews. In particular, Keaton's performance as Kroc was praised a lot, and won him awards. At the time of writing it sits at 80% critics' score and 82% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. However it failed in one particular way.
The release date for The Founder was shifted to make sure it was eligible for the 2017 Academy Awards, yet it wasn't nominated for a single one. There were no nods to Keaton for Best Actor (which eventually went to Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea), Robert Siegel for Best Adapted Screenplay (went to Moonlight written by Barry Jenkins), or any of the other cast or crew roles.
Bear in mind that this was the year of La La Land, Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea, Lion, Hacksaw Ridge, Arrival, Hidden Figures, Hell or High Water and more — it was a busy year for great movies. But The Founder not receiving a single nomination means that it's been a little forgotten about compared to many other movies from the time.
In our Netflix era, though, movies don't need awards to be remembered — they just need to be added to a streaming service.
