‘Good Burger’ Tried to Warn Us. Possibly We’ll Hearken to ‘Good Burger 2.’

Like every ’90s child who was allowed to spend numerous hours in entrance of the tv, I’m a toddler of the Nickelodeon era. And for the entire wacky cartoons and All That sketches and slime-drenched sport exhibits, no cultural artifact from the community lingers in my creativeness fairly like Good Burger. I used to be 10 years outdated when it was launched in 1997, a time when there have been no two people on Earth funnier than Dex (Kenan Thompson) and Ed (Kel Mitchell), at the least in my eyes.

After the movie’s debut and a number of seasons of their present Kenan and Kel, the comedic duo break up, leaving many millennials to query the on-screen friendship. As time marched on, Thompson grew to become the longest-running solid member on Saturday Night time Reside, and Good Burger pale out of the general public consciousness. Which is why I’m thrilled to see that the duo is reuniting for Good Burger 2, set for launch on Paramount+ on November 22. The primary trailer for the movie got here out this week, and at an early look, it appears to have the identical quantity of coronary heart and goofball hijinks as its progenitor. But it surely additionally seems that Good Burger 2 might be simply as sharply vital as the primary movie, which on some degree, past the rivers of spilled milkshakes, is a cautionary story about corporatization, the demise of the mom-and-pop restaurant, and the exploitation of fast-food staff. Earlier than you begin rolling your eyes and demand that I’m attempting to inject which means right into a foolish baby’s film, hear me out.

Good Burger is fairly up-front about its anti-corporate message. On its floor, the film follows what occurs after Good Burger’s future is threatened by the opening of Mondo Burger, a series slinging huge burgers pumped stuffed with an addictive chemical. It’s price noting that this storyline was written a full decade earlier than Subway (and different fast-food chains) eliminated a chemical generally utilized in yoga mats from its bread, and American meals producers have been required to section out the usage of trans fat, which have been linked to persistent circumstances like dementia and coronary heart illness. It’s not that Good Burger revealed for the primary time that meals corporations generally use shady chemical substances to make their merchandise, however it was nearly assuredly the primary time that I keep in mind a movie making it a precedence to speak to me, a Capri-Solar-swilling child, in regards to the issues of the world. Behind the slapstick gasoline and neon-colored condiment splatters was a movie that knew that youngsters have been good sufficient to deal with these sorts of conversations.

After which you could have candy, naive Ed, the hero of the movie who doesn’t fairly get the credit score he deserves. The sunshiny 16-year-old comes up with a superb concept to save lots of Good Burger — a scrumptious particular sauce that prospects can’t get sufficient of — solely to be exploited by his so-called good friend Dexter, who begins bottling Ed’s sauce and pocketing the lion’s share of the income. In the meantime, although he’s saved their restaurant, Ed’s “bonus” (most of which Dexter is pocketing) remains to be so paltry that Mondo Burger is sort of capable of woo him away with the promise of a better wage. However as a result of he’s loyal, and an all-around good dude, Ed decides to stay round and finally finally ends up saving the day when he figures out that Mondo Burger is utilizing that bizarre, unlawful chemical.

Greater than that, Good Burger reminds us that success isn’t simply promoting extra burgers than the competitors. It’s about being a great good friend, calling out dangerous actors, and doing issues the appropriate means. It additionally reminds us that it’s staff like Ed, not house owners or millionaire CEOs, who hold our favourite institutions working, fixing numerous issues on the fly with out a lot recognition or further pay.

Getty Photos/Paramount+

And although we’ve fast-forwarded greater than 20 years sooner or later, it appears as if Good Burger 2 remains to be going to need to deal with those self same issues, as a result of the grown-ups clearly didn’t hearken to Good Burger. Within the trailer, we see that Ed remains to be working at Good Burger, however a brand new crew of company house owners is seeking to franchise the idea, and open Mega Good Burger areas from “Hollywood to Hong Kong” with the assistance of — what else? — synthetic intelligence. Again in actual life, some fast-food staff are already being changed by varied kinds of synthetic intelligence. But once more, the gags that we are able to count on on this movie received’t even be that far-fetched.

After I assume again on the flicks of my childhood, most of their predictions didn’t come true. I don’t dwell in house now, there’s nonetheless no hologram maid who will make me no matter snacks I like. However Good Burger, with its working-class heroes and eyebrow cocked towards technological advances that search to exchange people, bought it proper. Possibly this time round, not solely the children will pay attention.