| Overall Grade: | C+ |
|---|---|
| Violence: | B- |
| Sexual Content: | B- |
| Language: | B |
| Drugs/Alcohol: | -- |
| Run Time: | 103 |
| MPAA Rating: | |
| Video Release: |
In-Depth Review
ShareGood Burger is rated PG: for language, some comic violence and mild sex-related humor
Ever order a burger where there is so much junk that you wonder what happened to the beef? This movie cooks up a similar situation. Ed (Kel Mitchell), a frantic fanatic fast-food employee working for a typical by-the-road burger joint called Good Burger, loves his job so much he even showers in his uniform. This teen is a simple soul who has a good heart, but his irritating non-stop chatter and literal interpretation of every instruction given him makes us wonder how he keeps his job.
When a huge Mondo Burger outlet resembling an amusement park opens across the road, restaurant rivalries begin and Mondo’s military management attacks. It looks like it will soon be Good-bye Burger for Ed and the staff, until the day Ed shares a homemade sauce he brings in his lunch. Suddenly Good Burger has some real ammunition to go up against Mondo’s entertaining environment and mysteriously huge patties.
Meanwhile, Dexter (Kenan Thompson), a former Mondo employee, gets a job at Good Burger when Ed befriends him. Dexter sees Ed as a gullible fool whose naivety can be taken advantage of. As the story progresses, Dexter realizes there is a price to pay for his selfish dealings and that people’s differences can be valuable. By working together to beat Mondo Burger, these boys and the rest of the staff become good friends and save their jobs without resorting to dishonest tactics.
Somewhere inside this burger movie are some good lessons, but the overdone Mondo Burger scenario makes the values more difficult to find. Everything would work better had this been a realistic example of the big corporate giant versus the little independent.
Aimed at young audiences who will appreciate the cheesy extras (like little sound effects when someone moves their eyes, and Kel Mitchell’s characterization of an over zealous burger flipper), this film may still leave parents with some beefs over its slapstick violence, mild language, and vague sexual references. In the end, Good Burger serves up a fast movie but there is only a little bit of nutrition.
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About the Reviewer: Rod Gustafson
Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. He currently serves as the President of the Alberta Association for Media Awareness, a provincial non-profit society. He also authors a regular column for The Parent's Television Council in Los Angeles. He and his wife Donna have four children.
