Good Burger 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Good Burger 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 29, 2024

They say that time flies when you're having fun, and it seems like just yesterday that that movie forums were constantly abuzz with jokes about 1997's not-so-classic Good Burger coming to the Criterion Collection, with fans making various mock-ups for cover art design, brainstorming potential special features for the release, and the like. Why? Because it is in so many ways the antithesis of everything Criterion stands for (releases like Armageddon notwithstanding). The original Good Burger was a brainless, if not still strangely alluring, jovial, and maybe even fun, movie about a couple of fast food burger employees who aren't all that bright but find themselves on the frontlines of a corporate war between their small burger joint and the mega chain that moved in across the street. The film's cult following was built up much the same way that has been true of The Room, standing as one of the most alluring and enduring (and endearing, for that matter) train wrecks in movie history.

It's been over 25 years since the event of the previous Good Burger film. Now, Dexter Reed (Kenan Thompson) has become a successful businessman who runs “Dextreme Industries” and has developed the “Burn No More” formula that “renders any object unburnable.” But when a demonstration goes wrong, he burns down his own house and finds himself in deep debt to Mark Cuban (himself) who funded this project gone horribly wrong. He’s also evicted from his own headquarters, leaving him, essentially, homeless. So, he does the only thing he can: he calls on Ed (Kel Mitchell) for help. He crashes at Ed’s house where he finds a houseful of children, all of whom look like Ed, and a home design concept that reflects the Good Burger vibe. Ed is also now the owner of Good Burger. Dexter rejoins the Good Burger work force and once again finds himself in a fight for the business’ future when MegaCorp desires to buy the restaurant and expand it into a global franchise.

So, Ed's still at Good Burger, and Good Burger is his life. There's a very serious The Last Shift vibe to that, but rather than a sobering portrait of a life spent in a fruitless pursuit, the film makes light of Ed's career choice, and what a career it's been. He's got a houseful of kids, a beautiful wife, and Roxanne (Carmen Electra) is something of a caregiver to his children. Plus, he now owns the place, and he's pretty rich, too. So Good Burger has been, well, good for Ed, and how could it not be, given how infectiously happy and cheerful he always is (let's just hope the customers don't see him using the bathroom plunger to unclog the shake machine). The film is as irreverent as the original, and it actually does a pretty great job of capturing the same spirit while making everything feel somewhat new while clinging to the familiarity that is so necessary to make a sequel to a movie like Good Burger work.

Granted, this is not a good movie in the traditional sense, but it's a very good sequel to the original. It's more of the same and captures the same spirit as the original, too, advancing time but really seeing the core elements in a standstill. There's even a character who was accidentally frozen in the freezer at the restaurant for more than two decades, is thawed, and gets back to things. That's how Good Burger 2 feels, like a time capsule opened back up years later. Dex and Ed look more mature but still look (and act!) like themselves, and the sense of continuity they bring, in both personality and in looks, is vital to the film's success. The plot definitely takes a backseat to the overt shenanigans and character relationships, as it should. The first film's "success," if one can call it that, was built on the camaraderie that Ed and Dex share, not on the finer plot points, so kudos to Writers Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert and Director Phil Traill for recognizing what made the original film a cult favorite and recreating it for a new generation of fans.

Good Burger 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Good Burger 2's 1080p transfer is, well, good. It's not great, but it's good. There's no real secret sauce here, and the result is a perfectly acceptable, but also pretty nondescript, image. Certainly, detail is...fine...offering good clarity and nice definition to all of the usual suspects, like faces, clothes, and the various elements around the Good Burger restaurant, like tile and machinery. It's sharp from corner to corner, too, so no worries there. The film is abundantly colorful and the various tones, especially the Good Burger blues, offer adequate saturation, but there's no real sense of absolute color depth and explosion. The palette could be said to look even very slightly dull and depressed at times, like the contrast could have been finely adjusted to just bring out a little more oomph to everything. Black levels, then, are OK, but white balance is solid and skin tones look good. Noise is not really an issue, and there are no real encode issues to note.

Good Burger 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The disc includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's certainly not a potent or prominent track, but the demands the sound design puts upon it don't demand that sort of delivery from it. This is as straightforward as they come, offering a front heavy experience with modest surround gain, at times, and no real sense of sonic prominence. Exceptions are a few scenes, like a dance club at the 27-minute mark where thump and musical expression find greater impact. Light atmosphere is even somewhat of a rarity, but musical stretch to the back is appreciable though light. The fronts handle most of the content, and spacing is suitably wide. Musical clarity suffices, and the detail to various minor and modest sound effects is good, while placement satisfies basic spacing needs. Dialogue is the main driver here, and it is presented with good foundational center placement, fine prioritization, and sufficiently lifelike clarity.

Good Burger 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Good Burger contains several extras. The main menu screen only offers options to "Play" the film, a button for subtitle toggling, and the "Extras" tab. It's a static image screen with no overlayed music. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Home of the Good Bloopers (Extended Version) (1080p, 8:15): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• The Comfort Food Classic (1080p, 4:38): Looking back at the original sketch and film and exploring how and why the sequel came about.
• Behind the Scenes with Kenan and Kel (1080p, 8:16): Looking at the story, the new and returning actors and characters, funniest moments, and more. Some material repeats from the previous extra.
• Meat the Employees (1080p, 2:27): A super-quick look at some of the new characters who appear in the film and the actors who play them.
• Q&A with the New Crew (1080p, 6:31): A slightly meatier extra with the new cast members discussing their roles in the film.
• Employee Training Video (1080p, 2:59): A funny and quirky video meant to bring new employees up to speed.
• Good Burger 1 Movie Recap (1080p, 5:03): For those who do not want to "endure" the first film again (or even watch it for the first time) or for those who need a refresher and don't have time to watch it again, here is a five-minute recap to get viewers caught (back) up.

Good Burger 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Good Burger 2 won't be making an appearance at the Oscars, but it made me smile and laugh more than once. That makes the movie a success in my book. Paramount's Blu-ray offers video and audio presentations that satisfy format requirements. A few extras are sprinkled in, too. Fans of the original will definitely want to check it out!