How does one review Good Burger 2? Do the words and sentences following this one even matter when discussing the sequel to a beloved ’90s cult film, made for the generation that grew up on All That and Kenan & Kel? Pardon the pun, but that’s the pickle when analyzing anything designed to pull at nostalgic heartstrings and transport its audience. Good Burger 2 is a time machine that takes its audience back to a time before adulting became a verb or a burden. And on that front, it succeeds. Not always with flying colors, but just enough for a pleasurable distraction during a chaotic holiday season. As a bonus, Good Burger 2 finds cultural relevance in its plot and feels, dare I say, timely. Who knew?
For the uninitiated, Good Burger began life as a famous sketch on All That, Nickelodeon’s answer to Saturday Night Live and In Living Color. In the film adaptation, Dexter (Kenan Thompson), a scheming teenager, needed money over the summer and found work at the titular fast food restaurant. There, he met the company’s most loyal employee, Ed (Kel Mitchell), who is much more intelligent than he looks. Or sounds. Or how he carries himself in general.
Dex befriends Ed and exploits those smarts for his financial gain. Calamity ensues; people sing songs complete with dance numbers, Dex has a come to Jesus moment, and they defeat the giant corporation threatening their small restaurant’s existence. The latest Nickelodeon film, also starring Kenan and Kel, maintains Good Burger’s charm and energy. It also takes the same basic plot beats from the first movie but gives them more emotional resonance.
Yes, I’m fully aware of how that sounds, and no, it’s not a typo. It’s the primary way the film acknowledges the 26 years between films. Dexter needs money, again, but the stakes are a lot higher as an adult with a failing business than as a teenager who needs a couple thousand bucks to pay for a car accident. Good Burger 2 also gives Dexter an extended family, which only underlines his failings. That’s in complete contrast to Ed, who found someone to procreate with him more than a few times — once you get over that, it’s easy to see how the filmmakers wanted more on the line for both leads while still hammering the point from the first movie that Ed’s good heart means more in the long run than Dex’s self-interested brain.
Ah, the ’90s. The era where people with money told kids without it that simply being noble would fill their bank accounts. You gotta love it.
But I digress. Someone once said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and that’s Good Burger 2’s motto. It even follows the same story structure as the first film: That’s not a knock on the film, as it works to its credit; it knows its audience and understands its mission.
