Often times there are things I found funny as a child that I look back on and find absolutely cringe now. One of those things was my obsession with the duo of Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell.
My secret hope was the guys would take a darker or more subversive approach to the original material (like Barbie or Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure) seeing as their entire fan base are nearing their forties. But this is just the same old garbage, the same old characters but older, doing the same old derpy, screechy slapstick for kids. And what they do is such a specific form of 90’s Nickelodeon comedy, kids today may not only find it unfunny, but childish as well.
A sequel to the 1997 movie, sees an adult Dex (Kenan Thompson) forced to get a job at his childhood place of employment, Good Burger, which is now somehow owned by his childhood friend and local idiot, Ed (Kel Mitchell). The main storyline centers around Dex being a manipulative money hungry entrepreneur trying to get to Ed’s money. This results in a representative from a huge corporation (played by Lil Rel Howery, who is given nothing to do here) tricking Ed into selling Good Burger.
There is an abundance of recognizable catch phrases, as well as cameos from Nickelodeon has-beens and other “stars”. There’s a gag where Ed has kids that all look and dress like him. And in the final thirty minutes Good Burger 2 does actively criticize automation and unfair labor practices. But don’t be fooled, none of that in any way makes this movie any less of an embarrassment. The production value is absolute trash. This movie looks and feels like it was put together in a week.
Final Thought: Good Burger 2 only works when these two childlike characters enter the real world and interact with “normal” people who seem visibly bothered by their existence.We still have to suffer through these obnoxious characters, but as least we are momentarily given the illusion of others suffering with us. This should’ve been an SNL skit. And even then, it would’ve been too long.
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