By Julian
Good Burger 2 is another of Hollywood’s attempts to regurgitate lovable franchises for the sake of having no originality whatsoever. Though I have to admit, I was 80% entertained by this movie with the other 20% feeling it should have been made in 1999 or at the very least the early 2000s. And if we are going by franchise continuity, they’ve completely forgotten the book sequel Good Burger 2 Go. So there’s that tidbit of information for you guys. Anyhow, let’s see if this Good Burger is any good as the original.
Twenty-six years after the events of the 1997 original film, Ed (Kel Mitchel) now owns the eponymous fast-food restaurant which is good for him. He also has a family wouldn’t you know it? They all have the same name and he is married to his wife Edie (Ego Nwodin). Also, another surprise is that former Mondo Burger spy Roxanne, (Carmen Electra) is the caretaker for the kids. Crazy, right? Teenager Mr. Jensen (Fabrizio Guido) is the new manager in this sequel along with new employees including twin sisters Cindy, Lindy, (Emily Hinkler), and Mindy (Elizabeth Hinkler), elderly employee Ruth (Anabel Gratez), and Fizz (Josh Server) the drive-thru employee who was somehow frozen in the walk-in freezer for two decades. Dexter Reed (Kenan Thompson) quits his job to become a business entrepreneur for some odd reason. After a huge stint at a presentation with Mark Cuban, he decides to rejoin the Good Burger gang which his niece, Mia (Kamaia Fairburn), who also works at Good Burger is not overly enthusiastic due to their strained relationship. Amid all these plotlines, Cecil McNevin (Lil Rey Lowry) has big plans for Good Burger. Plans that might not be all that good for the restaurant.
Without going to any further spoilers, it’s alright though I still feel this movie was not needed. But I’m glad it exists. Mitchel’s Ed is still kooky and funny as ever and it seems like he never missed a beat. Thompson’s Dexter is funny as well, though I’m still confused as to why he decided to be a CEO for the past two decades. I don’t recall anything from the first movie of him wanting to be a business entrepreneur. In any case, it’s good to see the Kenan & Kel duo back together even though some of the comedic hi-jinks in this movie are a bit overplayed and cartoonish.
The plot, however, took a bit longer for it to come into play. Sitting through Ed and Dexter’s comedic laughs and situations for almost 30 minutes to an hour for the corporate takeover/AI replacing humans plot to catch up. If anything, they could have fixed it by catching us up to what the duo has been up to over the years for about maybe 5 to 10 minutes while introducing the villains somewhere at the very beginning of the movie, would cut down the runtime at least. It’s all cool and fun to watch, but it feels a bit outdated.
Good Burger 2 is an entertaining yet needless unapologetic 90s sequel that finally brought the comedy duo back together. It has some moments that would make you laugh and surprise audiences that would be worth their time. But bringing a 90s concept into 2023 can be slightly weird and jarring which is also why it wasn’t needed to begin with. But what we reviewers know, they already planned another sequel in the works. I’m curious if they are planning a Kenan & Kel revival if that’s the case.
