Separating reality from alternative fact

THERE'S more than a little common ground between Ray Kroc, the entrepreneur who is (wrongly) believed to be the founder of fast-food behemoth McDonald's and the recently-installed Leader of the Free World, who is credited (by himself at least) as possibly the greatest businessman the world has ever seen.

The Founder puts a little distance between reality and the notion (or "alternative fact") that Kroc was the man who founded McDonald's. There's no doubt he was the mastermind behind the brand, turning it into one of the most phenomenal success stories of the 20th century, but calling himself the founder, as he did in his biography Grinding it Out: The Making of McDonald's, is taking it one fact too far.

That's the major takeaway of this film, directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert D Siegel, which portrays Kroc as a struggling travelling salesman of milkshake mixers who was saved by his motor-mouthed skills, a supersized helping of persistence and the ability to spot the Next Big Thing in the food industry.