“Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger, may I take your order?” Good Burger, a timeless film released in 1997, is still one of the most criminally underrated movies to ever be made.
With its production taking place in the 90’s, Good Burger follows the classical problem-to-solution approach. The movie is based on two competing burger joints, Good Burger and Mondo Burger. Mondo Burger, an unethical and unnatural dinner, brings competition when it opens right across the street of Good Burger, a healthier, more joyous restaurant.
Good Burger employees Ed, played by Kel Mitchell, and Dexter, played by Kenan Thompson go on an adventure to save Good Burger from going out of business and to give Mondo Burger the bad karma it deserves.
With Good Burger being a Nickelodeon film, director Brian Robbins did not have any grand shots to capture. However, Robbins did a great job communicating the comedic aspect of the film, using specific angles in scenes such as the asylum dance scene or flying burger scene.
The center of all the magic, Kel Mitchell, and his portrayal of Ed was amazing. Ed’s character is essentially a real-life adaptation of Spongebob, but black, which plays into the context, culture, and humor of the movie.
The writers wrote the perfect balance of Ed acting stupid, being funny, and being smart, and Mitchell played that role perfectly. One of the funniest parts of the film is created by this detail alone. After acting like a fool for the whole movie, Ed suddenly speaks intelligently on the failures of the court system in convicting criminals, which catches the viewer off guard with loads of irony.
The soundtrack of the movie was very fitting. The occasional quirkish music made scenes much funnier, and improved the overall quality of the movie. Whether it be a classic hip-hop track, or the funky upbeat music played during the dance scene, the music in the film made it feel more personal.
An asylum scene where Ed dances with all the mentally ill patients sounds controversial on paper, but in reality was one of the funniest, most memorable scenes in the entire movie. The choreography of all the disturbed patients dancing along with Ed felt like a subtle reference to Micheal Jackson’s hit song Thriller, who’s music video featured the same type of dancing.
The sub-plot of Dexter’s love for Monique, played by Shar Jackson, only made the movie’s emotional value greater. The classic date of mini-golfing followed by a late night walk topped off by Dexter getting a kiss enhanced his value as a character, encouraging him to want to be a better person for Monique.
The overall feel and flow of the movie brings back nostalgia from the early 2000’s, akin to shows such as That’s So Raven and Drake and Josh.
All in all, Good Burger is a nostalgic film that has all the great attributes of a late 90’s to early 2000’s movie. These little details add up to make a spectacular movie to rewatch throughout our lifetime, reliving the goodness of Gen Z’s childhood years.
