Good Burger


Good Burger is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by
Dan Schneider, Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert. Starring Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson, it is based on the comedy sketch of the same name on the Nickelodeon series All That. Produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Tollin/Robbins Productions, Good Burger was released worldwide on July 25, 1997, by Paramount Pictures. It grossed $23.7 million against a budget of $8.5 million.

Plot

On the first day of summer, slacker high school student Dexter Reed takes his mother's car on a joyride while she is away on a business trip but accidentally crashes into and damages both his mother's car and the car of his teacher, Mr. Wheat. Dexter is in danger of going to jail, as he neither has a driver's license nor car insurance. Fortunately, Wheat agrees to let Dexter pay for the damages in exchange for not calling the police on Dexter. With the damages estimated at $1,900, Dexter is forced to take a summer job. After being fired from the new and soon-to-open Mondo Burger restaurant for clashing with the owner and manager, Kurt Bozwell, he ends up working for Good Burger. There, he meets and reluctantly befriends the dimwitted yet charming cashier Ed alongside other colorful employees. Initially, neither of them are aware that Ed inadvertently caused Dexter's car accident. Ed had skated in front of Dexter on his way to make a delivery, causing him to swerve and crash into Mr. Wheat's car.
The survival of the smaller Good Burger is threatened by the grand opening of Mondo Burger, with its fancy decoration and oversized burgers. Luckily, Good Burger is saved by a new secret sauce created by Ed. Upon realizing that Ed caused his car accident and learning from Mr. Wheat that the damages from the accident exceed the original $1,900 estimate, Dexter takes advantage of Ed's gullibility to extort money from him so that he can pay off his debt sooner. Ed promptly signs a contract that gives Dexter 80% of his profits. Dexter then tells Ed not to tell the secret recipe for the sauce to anyone.
Ed's sauce vastly increases Good Burger's sales but draws the attention of Kurt, who wants it for Mondo Burger. After failing to lure Ed to Mondo Burger at a higher wage, Kurt sends Roxanne, a beautiful employee, to seduce Ed into revealing the sauce recipe. As a result, Roxanne is repeatedly injured by Ed's clumsiness and ultimately quits her job.
When a dog refuses to eat a discarded Mondo Burger in favor of a discarded Good Burger, Ed and Dexter become suspicious and decide to investigate. They infiltrate Mondo Burger's kitchen and discover that their burgers are artificially enhanced with Triampathol, an illegal food chemical. Kurt discovers them and calls an acquaintance named Wade, who has them committed to an asylum known as Demented Hills so that they can't bring to light their misdeeds.
Afterward, Kurt and his men break into Good Burger and finds Ed's secret sauce then tainting it with shark poison. Otis, an elderly Good Burger employee who was sleeping on the premises, catches them red-handed causing Kurt to commit Otis to Demented Hills as well. After Otis informs Ed and Dexter about Kurt's scheme, the three escape Demented Hills and hijack an ice cream truck to head back to Good Burger, arriving just in time to prevent anyone from eating the poisoned sauce.
Ed and Dexter then break into Mondo Burger to expose their chemically induced burgers to the police. While Dexter creates a distraction, Ed tries to take a can of Triampathol but clumsily knocks one can into the meat grinder. Inspired, Ed pours another can into the meat grinder. As Kurt corners Dexter on the roof, Ed suddenly arrives with an empty can. Kurt mocks Ed's presumed foolishness, whereupon Ed snidely comments that the can wasn't empty when he found it. Chaos then ensues in the Mondo Burger building, as the burgers begin to explode due to the overuse of Triampathol. A large artificial burger falls from the rooftop of the Mondo Burger building which ironically destroys Mr. Wheat's newly-repaired car.
In the aftermath, Mondo Burger is shut down and Kurt is arrested for using the illegal substance and contaminating Good Burger’s sauce. Dexter tears up the contract with Ed and tells him that he gets to keep all the profits from his sauce. Ed and Dexter head back to Good Burger, where they are both welcomed by the other employees as heroes for saving the restaurant.

Cast

Most of the film's scenes were filmed along Glendora Avenue in West Covina, California including at a restaurant currently known as "Peter's El Loco". Good Burger includes a short stop-motion sequence in the title sequence as well as in the opening sequence. It was filmed from March 9 to April 1997.

Release

The Action League Now! episode "Rock-a-Big Baby" was released prior to screenings of the film.

Home media

Paramount released the film on VHS on February 17, 1998, and on DVD on May 27, 2003. Warner Home Video reissued Good Burger on DVD on September 24, 2013. On August 29, 2017, Paramount re-released the DVD, as the Warner Home Video distribution deal has ended.
The DVD releases lack special features. The film has not been released on Blu-ray yet, unlike most of the films from Nickelodeon. The only official HD versions of the film are available on the iTunes Store, FandangoNOW, and Vudu.

Film sequel and Book sequel

published a children's novel, Good Burger 2 Go, as a sequel to the film. The 160 page book, written by Steve Holland, featured Ed following a short-changed customer around the globe. On September 23, 2015, Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell made a "Good Burger" Sketch for a reunion on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. On March 5, 2018, Kel Mitchell said talks on a Good Burger 2 in the moment. On December 13, 2018, Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell stated they are open for a potential sequel or reboot.

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $7.1 million, finishing #5 at the US box office. It went on to gross $23.7 million worldwide. The film was released in the United Kingdom on February 13, 1998, where it only reached #14.

Critical response

gives the film an approval rating of 32% based on 38 reviews and an average rating of 4.17/10. The consensus reads, "Good Burger might please hardcore fans of the 1990s Nickelodeon TV series that launched leads Kenan and Kel to stardom, but for all others, it will likely prove a comedy that is neither satisfyingly rare nor well done." On Metacritic the film has a score of 41 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Lisa Alspector of Chicago Reader gave the film a negative review, saying that "The perceived notion that kids want their movies fast and furious is barely in evidenced in this 1997 comedy, a laboriously slow suburban adventure in which a teenager's summer of leisure slips through his fingers when he has to get a job—an experience that proves almost life threatening because of the cutthroat competition between two burger joints." Andy Seiler of USA Today gave the film two stars out of four, saying that "Good Burger is not very well done, but it does have energy."
Leonard Klady of Variety wrote, "The meat of the piece is definitely FDA cinematically approved, and perfect if you like this brand of entertainment with the works." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two stars out of four, writing "It didn't do much for me, but I am prepared to predict that its target audience will have a good time."
Retrospective reviews well after the initial release have described its continued popularity; Nathan Rabin said that the film "obviously connected with a lot of children at the time of the film's release and holds up surprisingly well 18 years later." Courtney Eckerle said "the 90s generation will never forget " and Tara Aquino of Mental Floss called it "a silly cult hit that's indelibly a part of Generation Y."

Soundtrack

A soundtrack containing hip hop, R&B, funk and punk rock was released on July 15, 1997 by Capitol Records. It peaked at 101 on the Billboard 200 and 65 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The soundtrack features the single "All I Want" by 702, which reached number thirty-five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Literature