On this day in comedy on July 25, 1997 Good Burger was released by Paramount Pictures.
Nickelodeon Movies partnered with Tollin/Robbins Productions to adapt this popular sketch from the series, All That into this feature film. Starring the comedy duo of Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, Good Burger stayed true to the format of a dysfunctional fast food stand with an even more motley crew in charge.
The film version kicks off with Thompson wrecking his mother’s car while on summer vacation. The problem is compounded by the fact the other vehicle to get damaged belonged to his teacher, played by Sinbad. A deal is struck. If Thompson pays for the repairs, Sinbad won’t tell his mama. Thus, Thompson finds himself getting a summer job at Good Burger and there he meets a blissfully ignorant employee played by Mitchell. His character is so stupid he doesn’t know he’s sitting on a gold mine in the form of a secret sauce he invented that makes the Good Burger burgers the best burgers in town. However, the rival food chain, Mondo Burger knows how good they are and plot to steal the secret sauce recipe.
Once Thompson figures out it was Mitchell who accidently caused the car accident in the first place he leverages that bit of info to force Mitchell to sign over 80% of his secret sauce invention to his new ‘business partner’. So they’re partners not only in the invention, but also in the looney bin when the manager of Mondo Burgers has them committed while he continues to try to pilfer the thing that makes Good Burgers so doggone good. His Mondo Burgers already have a secret ingredient that makes them extremely and obscenely huge (an illegal substance of course), but tasting better wouldn’t hurt.
The thing is no crazy house can hold sane nuts so Thompson and Mitchell escape and break into Mondo Burgers and discover just how crooked they are. Following a series of mishaps, Thompson and Mitchell expose Mondo Burger’s manager and save the day. Mondo Burger is destroyed by its own illegal additive and Good Burger goes back to being the neighborhood’s meat patty monopoly.
Good Burger also stars Abe Vigoda, Carmen Electra, Jan Schweiterman, Shar Jackson, Dan Schneider, Ron Lester, Lori Beth Denberg, Josh Server, Linda Cardellini with a cameos by Shaquille O’Neal, George Clinton, Robert Wuhl and Marques Houston.
On a budget of $8.5 million, Good Burger grossed an impressive return of $23.7 million at the box office.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Check out this clip:
