In the early '50s, Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) is an unsuccessful salesman who accidentally stumbles across McDonald's, a small burger joint in San Bernardino, California run by two entrepreneur brothers (Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch). Impressed by their quality and fast service style, Kroc convinces the McDonalds to franchise their business. Kroc takes the restaurant nationwide, amassing a fortune and changing the face of American business, while leaving his original partners in the dust.
On paper, The Founder seems like a cautionary tale. Robert Siegel's script often seems like a fast food twist on The Social Network, showing Kroc as a striving backstabber who charms partners and investors before swindling their ideas (and in one case, their wife). Yet in the hands of John Lee Hancock, director of maudlin nonsense like The Blind Slide, it changes into something more anodyne, a tale of hard work and perseverance in which some people, sadly, get hurt. There's no reason the two strands couldn't complement each other, yet there's a distinct tonal dissonance between Hancock's sunny, upbeat direction and the potentially dark subject matter that makes it hard to engage.
To the extent the film works, it's mostly due to Michael Keaton. Keaton embraces both sides of Kroc's disparate character, making him a charming shark who comes to see success as an end to itself. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch make a fun doubles-act, but neither character is really fleshed out or distinct. They fare better than Laura Dern and Linda Cardellini, whose roles as Kroc's wives are glorified walk-ons (Cardellini at least gets a fun scene wooing Kroc with a milkshake).
Ultimately, The Founder is modestly diverting yet never lives up to its potential. Different direction could have fleshed out the story or taken it in a different direction, but as it stands it's just a familiar, if someone confused biopic about a successful businessman.