Good Burger 2 Review: Late-'90s Nickelodeon Hit Sequel arrives Quarter-Century Late

'Good Burger 2' arrives 26 years after the original, but the sequel's nostalgia-driven plot and unfunny jokes fail to hit the mark.

Paramount+ released the sequel to the 1997 cult classic Nickelodeon comedy "Good Burger" a whopping 26 years later in a nod to the streaming-era trend of reviving old favorites for a nostalgia bump. The movie, titled "Good Burger 2," features the return of stars Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson as hapless fast food employees, Ed and Dexter, respectively. Directed by Phil Traill and written by Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert, the film attempts to update the story to 2023 by adding new characters and a tiresome AI plot.

The central premise of the movie is the reunion of Kenan and Kel, with Ed now owning the Good Burger restaurant and Dexter working as an inventor. However, the chemistry between the two stars is overshadowed by the introduction of tedious new characters and a convoluted, humorless plot. A nefarious businessperson, played by Jillian Bell, wants to franchise Good Burger and steal it from Ed, with the help of a shadowy lawyer, portrayed by Lil Rel Howery. The plan involves replacing the workforce with robots that look and act like Ed, leading to a predictable showdown between the heroes and the villains.

While the simplistic plot is not the film's main issue, the lack of humor and repetitive dialogue prevent it from landing any laughs. Kenan Thompson, known for his comedic talent, is underutilized in the sequel, forced into playing the straight man to Kel Mitchell's more flashy character. Mitchell, on the other hand, resorts to an unpleasant high-pitched voice and "aw shucks" attitude, missing the opportunity to offer something different when playing the robot version of his character. The screenplay also fails to make good use of cameo appearances by "SNL" colleagues Leslie Jones, Maya Rudolph, and Pete Davidson, leaving them as wasted one-scene characters.

Director Phil Traill and editor Christian Hoffman struggle to find a hilarious take, resorting to speeding up the actors' delivery, shoddy special effects, and obvious body doubles in some sequences. The result is a series of frustrating misunderstandings and explanations, with characters yelling above one another to no avail. Ultimately, "Good Burger 2" falls short of delivering the comedic satisfaction that fans of the original movie might have hoped for.

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