The Founder

This week on Aussie and the Scotsman, the boys review The Founder (2016), the biographical drama directed by John Lee Hancock.

Starring Michael Keaton as salesman-turned-mogul Ray Kroc, the film charts the brutal, calculated rise of McDonald's — and how its original founders were ultimately forced aside.

Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch co-star as brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald, with Linda Cardellini as Ray Kroc’s third wife Joan Smith, and B. J. Novak as McDonald’s corporate operator Harry J. Sonneborn.

Rohan is finally on time — but immediately calls Rob a bully and racist over his accents, which naturally launches a full-blown discussion about accents in general.

That conversation leads to India, cricket, and a vivid story from Oval Maidan in Mumbai, where the Scotsman and his son bravely took their lives in their hands for a casual game of cricket under a chorus of “ball, ball, ball, ball, ball…”.

WhatsApp etiquette rears its head again. The boys sing Delilah (crediting Tom Jones very loosely). Campbell’s Cash & Carry gets a mention. Things go wildly off-road when the biblical story of Samson enters the chat, followed by impressions of Acropolis Now favourites Con the Fruiterer, Effie, and Franco Cozzo. It becomes clear very quickly that the boys have had far too much coffee.

The big debate: was Ray Kroc a good guy or a bad guy? A ruthless businessman or just playing the game? 

Rohan Reminisces takes us back to 1954, including the cost of a hamburger at the time — genuinely hilarious — and what might be the most chaotic multiple-choice presentation ever delivered (C, B, A or D… somehow all at once). The episode wraps with a discussion on the ten biggest and most famous brands in the world.

The podcast is out now on YouTube and also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Please click subscribe or follow — it really does help us.

Thanks for your support.