Good Burger (1997)

Director:

Brian Robbins

Writers (WGA):

Dan Schneider (characters) and
Kevin Kopelow (characters) ...

Release Date:

25 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy

Tagline:

A comedy with everything on it.

Plot:

Dexter Reed, a high-schooler is force to get a summer job at a fast food restaurant called Good Burger...

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Boy | Reckless Driving | Automobile | Mental Institution | Hamburger

Cast

Kel Mitchell	...	Ed
Kenan Thompson	...	Dexter Reed
Sinbad	...	Mr. Wheat
Abe Vigoda	...	Otis
Shar Jackson	...	Monique
Dan Schneider	...	Mr. Baily
Jan Schweiterman	...	Kurt Bozwell
Ron Lester	...	Spatch
Josh Server	...	Fizz
Ginny Schreiber	...	Deedee
Linda Cardellini	...	Heather
Shaquille O'Neal	...	Himself
George Clinton	...	Dancing Crazy
Richard Haje	...	Huge Scary Man
Robert Wuhl	...	Angry Customer

MPAA:

Rated PG for language, some comic violence and mild sex-related humor.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #35426) | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Singapore:PG | France:U | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

West Covina, California, USA

Company:

Nickelodeon Movies

Trivia:

Sinbad's character "Mr. Wheat" is named after writer and producer Dan Schneider's high school math teacher, Gough Wheat, at White Station High School in Memphis, Tennessee.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: At the end when the huge display burger falls off the roof of Mondo Burger, the crane wire is visible.

Quotes:

Heather: D'you think I'm cute?
Ed: Sure.
Heather: What's cute about me?
Ed: Uh... your head.
Heather: You have a cute head too!
Ed: Well, I try to keep it nice.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Guy: Barely Legal (#5.8)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

We're All Dudes

Good Burger: 7/10

Movies from TV shows almost always never work. It's even worse when a movie is based off of a skit from Saturday Night Live. So it's no wonder people were less than inviting when Good Burger came about, a movie based off of a skit from a kids version of SNL that airs on Nickelodeon. Seeing as I used to be a big fan of All That, I decided to give Good Burger another go-round, to see if its juvenile humor still stood up throughout the years. And it did.

Ed (Kel Mitchell) is a man of indeterminable age who works at a local dining establishment, Good Burger. He's basically a stoner that doesn't use drugs (at least in the movie). When a customer asks for a burger with nothing on it, he just gives him a bun. Ed'd rather play miniature golf then spend time "alone" with Roxanne (Carmen Electra). After crashing his mother's car, Dexter (Kenan Thompson) needs a job, so first he tries the new Mondo Burger, opening across the street from Good Burger. But then he gets a job with Good Burger, and Mondo Burger opens, which threatens to put Good Burger out of business. What are Ed and Dexter to do?

As Leonard Maltin puts it, "Like fast food itself, this film offers no real nourishment, but will appeal to kids just the same." Perhaps the first statement is true, but is there anything wrong with that? Sometimes a brainless, fun time at the movies is all one desires. And although it's based off of a kids show, anyone of any age can enjoy it. Even if its juvenile humor doesn't strike you as particularly hilarious, it's entertaining, and more importantly, its heart is in the right place. Most of the humor isn't mean-spirited, the main character of Ed is just too likeable to do anything mean. In fact, Ed makes the movie. With his wacky brand of living, he's a hilarious character, and a nice guy at that.

So don't let the light-hearted nature of this movie stop you from seeing it. You'll get some laughs out of it, like I did, but you'll find that it's a fun movie. I guarantee it.

My rating: 7/10

Rated PG for language, some comic violence and mild sex-related humor.