So I don’t know when it started, but I have always had this weird fascination with hamburgers and stuff associated with them. Maybe it was from when I was growing up’ going to McDonald’s was a big deal. It had a crazy play structure in the back that always looked insane and after getting a hamburger my mom or dad would let me run around like a maniac. And now as I am older I still love all things hamburger-related. I have a few interesting pieces of Pop Culture like my Giant Ronald McDonald Helium tank head. And my pretty large vintage McDonald’s coffee spoon/coke spoon collection (if you know you know). I don’t think you will find a larger one west of the Mississippi. But I also love movies that relate to burgers. I love Fast Food and also Hamburger the movie and remember watching them a bunch when I was younger, so this film is just a perfect “Made for Steve” type of film. Let me jump right in.
Let’s set the scene. Dexter Reed (played by Kenan Thompson) is your typical high school kid looking for an easy way to make money during summer break. After wrecking his teacher’s car in a failed joyride, he’s forced to get a job to pay off the damages. And that is how we end up at Good Burger: the most chaotic fast food joint in town. We also get introduced to Ed, played by Kel Mitchell. Ed is… special. If you have ever seen All That you know Kel is a master in this role. Either way, Dexter and Ed end up having to save Good Burger from being crushed by a massive corporate burger chain called Mondo Burger. Did I mention that this is a kid’s film? Either way this flick is great, and I love it so much.
The cast is magnificent, with Kenan and Kel leading this gem. Their chemistry is unbeatable—Kenan’s straight man energy against Kel’s off-the-wall insanity is just perfect. Kel as Ed delivers one of the greatest comedic performances in a ‘90s kids movie. He commits so hard to the bit that it becomes otherworldly. “Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger, can I take your order?” isn’t just a catchphrase—it’s the movie. Let’s talk about a handful of the supporting cast. Abe Vigoda randomly shows up as an insanely old employee who’s just sort of always there. Of course you should know that man, he was Tessio in The Godfather and Fish in Barney Miller to name just some of that man’s brilliance. Sadly passed away at 94. Sinbad plays a fashion-obsessed teacher with the wildest wardrobe in cinema history that ends up indirectly starting this whole film. Hopefully you know who Sinbad is and no, not the guy from the Ray Harryhausen films, but the extremely well-versed comedian. He starred in Jingle All The Way, Houseguest, First Kid. Tons of fun movies. How about the owner/manager of Good Burger? Well, that is played by Dan Schneider who I will always first immediately attribute to Better Off Dead, but later in life became a Nickelodeon Show Producer from 1993-2019. So anything made in those years he had involvement with, I won’t touch the controversy that is associated with him, you can look that up yourself. Who else is in this movie? Shaquille O’Neal has a cameo that makes absolutely no sense and yet is perfect. Robert Wuhl, as well, with a nice cameo as someone just buying a burger. Also shoutout to Linda Cardellini as the unhinged mental patient—yes, that Linda Cardellini. And this from my understanding is her first film. Wow, the cast is kind of bonkers.
Behind the scenes, we’ve got Brian Robbins directing, who would later go on to be a major player in Nickelodeon’s executive ranks and help produce shows like Smallville and Blue Mountain State. I would also like to call out that he has directed a handful of films I always ask how they were made. Ready to Rumble, the WCW wrestling flick with David Arquette, and Norbit and Meet Dave with Eddie Murphy. Like, what are those? Anyway, the writers of the flick: Kevin Kopelow & Heath Seifert, wrote for All That and Kenan & Kel, so they mastered writing for what these two main actors do best. The music in this flick is awesome, and I will talk about that a bit below, but the person in charge of all that was Stewart Copeland. You know, from the Police? I didn’t realize how many movies he touched until I looked it up but it was a ton.
Before we get to the quotes, we have to talk about the soundtrack. I feel like I need to do that first. This thing is a 90s MTV music video. It has songs from Less Than Jake, Mint Condition, George Clinton, The Pharcyde, De La Soul and Warren G. I skipped over the George Clinton Cameo in the mental institution, but he is performing and he is amazing. Either way, it goes way harder than it has any right to. Okay, my favorite part… the quotes:
- “I think I’m gonna die… Welcome to Good Burger!”
- “I’m a dude, he’s a dude, she’s a dude, ’cause we’re all dudes!”
- “You messed with the wrong burger!”
- “Mondo Burger’s going down, Ed!”
- “Would you like to have dinner tomorrow night?” “I like to have dinner every night.”
- “Can you get me to a hospital? I think I broke my ass.”
Here are a couple of nuggets about this flick that I love and mention to my daughters every time we watch it. The restaurant was a working restaurant during the filming of the movie, and rumor is if you were in West Covina, California, when they were filming this you could have had yourself a Good Burger. Although now I think the building is an El Pollo Loco, or something like that. Time to check Google Maps. Did I mention Carmen Electra is in this flick? Yup, and as beautiful as ever. She plays a character sent to steal the secret recipe of his amazing sauce from Ed. And let’s just say she does a solid job in this flick. Okay, last actor in this flick. One of Mondo Burger’s henchmen is played by J. August Richards, which most people are going to be like who? Well, he is Mike Petersen/Deathlock in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. A show that the great Larry Young wrote the essential fan guide for. Just a little nugget for him.
What can I say about this flick that I have not already? My kids love it, but nowhere near as much as me. It is a total classic so much so that 26 years later we got a sequel. Which I will proclaim here Wait! Have I not seen that? I have not. But I plan to very very soon. Apple TV and Paramount + have this, and now that I think about it, they also have the sequel. I know what I am watching. The sequel. I have Good Burger on VHS, like any respectful person should.
