Good Burger 2 (2023)

Good Burger 2 (2023)

 

3/10

 

Starring

Kenan Thompson

Kel Mitchell

 

Directed by Phil Traill

 

I think the bar for what qualifies as a good movie must be very low if this film made it past the development stage and into production. I know streaming services are fighting for content, but perhaps they should focus on creating quality movies that genuinely draw viewers to their platforms.

As I watched this, I couldn’t help but wonder: who thought Good Burger needed a sequel? The first movie, released in 1997, didn’t leave any room for a follow-up. Seeing the characters all grown up, still acting silly, and showing no character development was more sad than entertaining.

Ed (Kel Mitchell) is now an adult but still hasn’t gotten a handle on life. He continues to act like a child yet somehow manages to have a large number of children himself. The "grown man-child" trope lost its appeal a long time ago, and it’s baffling that the writers thought this was a good direction for his character.

Dex (Kenan Thompson), on the other hand, has become consumed by greed and a relentless desire to get rich. His schemes have alienated his family and destroyed his chances of success. One such scheme, where he tests his ideas on his own house, was utterly ridiculous and far-fetched.

The plot centers on yet another attempt to take over Good Burger. This time, the antagonist is a company called MegaCorp, which wants Ed to sell his single Good Burger restaurant so they can turn it into a franchise. Ed isn’t interested in selling, but Dex, now broke, homeless, and friendless after ruining his life with get-rich-quick schemes, gets involved. Dex reaches out to Ed, who lets him stay at his house and gives him a job at Good Burger. However, when MegaCorp offers Dex a cut of the deal to convince Ed to sell, he jumps at the opportunity. The movie attempts to explore the consequences of that decision.

The movie as a whole was boring, irritating, and unfunny. It failed to evoke any nostalgia for the original characters the way rewatching the 1997 Good Burger still does. Instead, it relied too heavily on Ed’s goofiness, which might have worked for kids back then but feels like lazy writing now.

If you’ve never seen the first Good Burger, don’t bother with this one. If you have fond memories of the original from the 90s, this sequel will only ruin them. I do hope the negative reviews will deter any idea to make a further sequel.