when i think of what defined the 90s i think of the nintendo 64 the talk boy the spice girls but
for me my top pick was kanan and kell the duo together not just their show keenan thompson
and kel mitchell provided some of nickelodeon's most memorable live-action works during this era
from being standout regulars on nick's sketch comedy show all that to having their own sitcom
simply titled kanan and kell two then ultimately getting their own theatrical movie together
good burger which was based on sketches from their time on all that taking notes from the films that
resulted from saturday night live sketches but the crazy part these two worked on all these projects
at the same time this isn't exaggeration when i tell you these two were a huge part
of my childhood plus my multiple videos on the keenan and kell show already good burger
means so much to me today along with my friend johnny tucello's we'll catch up with this duo
let us take a closer look and pickle part this beefy burger's legendary status sorting through
its cheesy one-liners and wrapping it all up with an abundance of inside knowledge about why good
burger was a delicious hit i don't see no tomatoes oh sorry shaq here you go consider yourself tomato
the whole concept of good burger had its humble beginnings as an all that sketch the
idea was simple ed the seemingly dim-witted but well-mannered cashier at a burger joint he takes
orders from the customers but being the quirky minded person that he is ed would get their orders
wrong in a humorous way or just all-around chaos and shenanigans would ensue kel mitchell played
the lead role as ed but kanan actually played several different characters the winning ticket
guy the plumber and most notably lester oaks construction worker this irate character would
make multiple reappearances his over-the-top and physically exaggerated actions worked perfectly in
contrast to ed's laid-back tone and absurdist style of humor ed's goofy humor would get big
reactions out of an angry lester a duo archetype that has stood the test of time so when it came
time to make a movie you'd think it'd be simple just take this formula and make it well bigger but
that was the problem would it make sense to base a whole movie between the character of ed and the
character of leicester and have the same effect work for the entire film's run time that and well
they both can't just be the funny guy that would get exhausting for the duration of a film we need
to ground one of the characters to emphasize the comedic character and it wasn't going to be ed
on the chopping block thus dexter was born the concept of the movie was simple dexter a new
employee at goodburger works together with ed to take down the new shady corporation in town mondo
burger when they purposefully try stealing all of their business but it's the moments in between all
of this that makes the movie special it's all about what the film really boils down to and
that's thanks to the relationship between ed and dexter see ed thinks he's making a friend dexter's
whole goal is just to make some money whether it's from working at good burger or trying to scam the
earnings from ed's sauce that becomes a plot point to help save good burger but this battle between
the burger joints causes a wild adventure for them to go on to build a true friendship between them
at this point in their career together keenan and kell feel so connected and the relationship feels
genuine it's also filled with great music that truly places it in the 90s from r b to ska to hip
hop to punk it had it all aside from musical cues when certain movements or tone shifts happen they
brought on board the best possible person to score the film if you're a massive spyro the
dragon fan like me you'd also highly appreciate this and distinctively point it out instantly but
it's none other than the legend stuart copeland himself his work with nickelodeon didn't stop
here as you'd hear his music styling with the amanda show another skit-based show that spun
off from all that with another massive star in the making amanda bynes it doesn't get
more 90s than the sounds that beautifully brought to life spyro the dragon all over this film i'm
just saying and again you can't forget this was the 90s so celebrity cameos or bit roles were
a staple for the time it's almost like marvel movies now to see who cameos next but in this
movie of course you have shaq being well himself sinbad who plays one of dexter's teachers who just
gets the worst luck thanks to dexter and for some reason is the bad guy when dexter was clearly in
the wrong oh and carmen electra i don't need to elaborate on that one some other cast mates from
all that were in the film as well josh server who plays a fellow employee at goodburger and good old
laurie beth denberg makes a cameo as her classic connie muldoon character from all that and what's
a cheesy 90s comedy without its over-the-top evil villain kurt fits those shoes nicely
not only is his motivation near non-existent to truly be evil but he's just so hammy in the role
the way he threatens good burger to the strict way he runs his overly large paddy franchise
he embodies corny villains who are doing something bad but act like it's even worse than it is plus
the jumpsuits i mean come on they're so sleek dare i say iconic i don't care how bad for you those
injected mondo burgers were or how evil kurt and his employees were mondoberger itself looked like
a party and a half oh and mad respect to avagoda for being in this as well as george clinton which
thanks to his conversation with ed in the film turns a psych ward into a dance number sequence to
some funky music by george himself nothing like a classic dance number for no reason we love to see
it there are so many notable and quotable moments that i still quote to this day thanks to the
impact that this film had on me you can't hand me a piece of paper to read without me looking at it
shaking my head up and down and saying i know some of these words and whether you find that cringy or
not i really don't care it's never not funny to me and it brings me more joy than i can verbally
explain the reason words said a certain way to take them so literal as a joke thanks to ed's
excellent execution of not understanding their meanings it's just so beautiful to watch in motion
watch your butt he'll try and watch his butt give me a shake he'll just shake the person oh
it's unbeatable with its quotability while this movie is legendary it ultimately works
because the dynamic duo especially for the fans of their other works together without
their history together good burger may not have been the movie we know it as today
that is if this movie would have been a thing at all i'm gonna have lunch at mandelberg home with
a big booty burger like a fast fish good burger good burger starring our very own keenan and kell
throughout their history together keenan and kell sort of stood above the rest not that the other
performers on all that weren't great it's just when you paired these two together in any scenes
or sketches it was magic from mavis and clavis to all their other bits the creatives behind all
that knew their chemistry was special they often said that you'd think these two had known each
other for years and years but in reality they only started their journey together with all that when
it came to the good burger sketch the character of ed was something that kell partially created and
made his own picking out his wig and the iconic surfer dude vocal tone it's not just that this
whole idea worked well it was the most popular bit on the show every time keenan would come
on for the sketch their chemistry was palpable almost becoming a game of who can make who laugh
and break character and their electricity together took them from an ensemble cast to their own show
keenan and kell all while still performing on all that and it wouldn't be long before their
already busy schedules would get even busier with the opportunity to make a film with nickelodeon's
success at the box office for their harry at the spy movie in 1996 their next move would be to take
from their already existing library of content so why not build upon the surefire team of keenan and
kell while the keenan and kell show was still new and hadn't warranted the acclaim for a movie there
was a blueprint to follow that being saturday night live since all that was seen as the snl for
kids it seemed like a no-brainer blues brothers coneheads wayne's world and more all stemmed
from sketches on snl when looking at all that sure there were many fun sketches to enjoy but nothing
stood out enough to justify the movie treatment all except for good burger it had exactly what
they needed two funny young stars in keenan and kell and an environment around which you can
develop a fun story a fast food restaurant their only real risk was translating the love for this
duo from tv to the big screen would the marketing be effective when it stems from something a bit
more niche that may not extend out to the masses if you watched all that in keenan and kell you
knew what this film was and why to be excited but if you had no clue about either show or these two
actors why would you care it was a big risk for nickelodeon's second feature film to take
but they knew keenan and kal were stars and they felt that it was worth it with paramount wanting
to produce more nickelodeon movies going forward the idea with good burger started off as a 15ish
minute extended sketch of goodburger written out when presenting it to a live studio audience to
gauge the reception of this few minute skit into something larger that featured a narrative arc the
audience was very receptive which got the wheel of creativity churning even more the creatives took
keenan and kell aside afterwards and presented the possibility of turning the sketch into a full film
with the only initial struggle now being writing keenan into the story properly where he wasn't
just playing some random character he already had experience working in the film world being
in a few 90s films like the mighty ducks d2 and d3 and the ben stiller comedy heavyweights but
for kel this would be his first film production the studio struggled to work out keenan's role
initially taking inspiration from his previous all that characters but quickly finding themselves
stuck back in the sketch version of this idea they needed something that worked specifically for the
film to balance out the absurdity of kell when developing his character of dexter they opted for
a jaded character that wouldn't really ever seem like he cares about the job or those around him
allowing the opportunity for a strong character arc so throughout the film we see dexter going
from being very annoyed of kel and eventually trying to rip him out of his cut for the ed sauce
that helped save goodburger to the two of them feeling like brothers by the end of it having
keenan care for kel in a genuine way the first season of keenan and kell ended in january of 1997
and wouldn't return until september of that year but that gap in time was still filled with all
that during its third season which was running from november of 1996 to october 1997. there
was a little buffer room to shoot this film as there would be only 20 new episodes of all
that during that year span so production on the film took place from early march 1997 to april
1997. it sure is admirable to have practically no break in between all three productions they
were currently working on for an 8.5 million dollar budget the film needed to be fast-tracked
especially with those schedules for brian robbins this would be his first film he would
direct he did direct some episodes of all that in keaton and kell but for a full film his only
prior experience was directing a documentary which are two completely different avenues
the film's pre-production started in january of 97. the film would premiere in theaters july 25th
of 97 meaning from start to finish they only had a tight seven month turnaround with only four
weeks to prep for the actual shoot the film would turn in 23.7 million dollars at the box office
nearly making the initial budget back on its seven million dollar opening weekend while bringing in a
few million less than harriet the spy based on the budget it still returned a little over a million
more than harriet did the film itself really became its own thing outside of the sketch sure
you had the character of ed the classic welcome to good burger home of the good burger can i take
your order and some winks and nods for fans of all that to laugh at but aside from that the
movie was its own beast this was necessary as the source material was really slim so building
upon what was there was nearly free range at this time keenan and kell were both only 18 years old
with two different careers following this in the 2000s but aside from the fans of kenankel and good
burger in general was the film received well by critics i'm kurt i'm ed i'm a lawyer you said you
were kirk the critics are hungry for good burger the newest sneak movie from paramount pictures
it's called good burger i'm really fine the quick answer to that is no the reviews for the
film were not in its favor sure the film brought in a nice return on investment for the studio
but it did little to prove to critics that there was success building with these nickelodeon movies
nor for a film career for these two actors maybe they were meant to be on tv rather than film that
was the thought process back then nickelodeon however was cool with everything the film brought
money in for paramount but for a future movie with these two in it or a sequel to good burger nothing
seemed to be on the table at this point everyone went back to making more all that and keenan and
kell right after picking back up right where they left off like nothing ever happened at the end of
the run for keenan and kell the series ended with a movie a tv movie made a whole video about it on
the channel already but it was able to give us another film with this duo but just as they're
characters in keenan and kell a film that was surely a weird way to end the series but a great
send-off in the end for me the movie represents so much of what i loved in the 90s and what made me
me growing up i have gushed about keenan and kell before here on the channel a couple of times
and hopefully more in the future these two were incredible together and made one of my favorite
shows and one of my personal favorite movies was good burger ever going to win an oscar
is it the greatest film ever made no but what it encapsulates what it was able to create was
a moment in time where two of the biggest kids tv stars got to make a movie that no matter when
you pop it in to watch or stream those cozy nostalgic feelings come flooding right back
the reason you still remember good burger so well is not just all the above but the soul of
what made it special keenan and kell separate and together these two had something that was
unexplainably special a formula that works so well because of these two that it can't directly
be duplicated even when the same people behind the shows that keenan and kel were in tried to
capture lightning in a bottle again with drake and josh and as much as i loved that show and as
much as i watch it over and over again today the ingredient or ingredients that sets them apart
is keenan and kell point blank good burger had the ability to transcend from what can be considered
a cheesy nothing too special kids film into an instant classic mainly for the kids of the 90s
who were on this keenan and kell ride that's not to say if you didn't grow up with keenan and kell
nor ever saw this movie that you wouldn't enjoy it but i can understand the lack of potential
attachment to it nostalgia plays a big factor into the iconicism of goodburger and i wouldn't change
a thing about it every time i watch it i enjoy it more and more it's cheesy but it's charming easily
when i look back on the great things the 90s had to offer this is right up there on the list as
a must-see joyride of comedy if nothing more the film holds a place in my heart and so many others
like johnny for me the single thing that stands out the most in good burger after all these years
is its heart yeah the entire premise is silly as hell and it's filled with absurd sequences
including one in which a baby is thrown into a basketball hoop but at its core this film
is about two characters dexter and ed and while it's funny through and through the scenes that
stand out to me are the ones that are earnest and genuine and that's sort of the magic of ed as a
character because even though he's a caricature and arguably one of the most ignorant characters
in film history he is absolutely genuine 100 of the time when he says rude things to customers he
has no idea what he's saying is rude and he has no intention of being a bad guy he just doesn't
know better and through this surfer bro caricature ed somehow manages to invoke the most emotional
sequences the one scene that i keep going back to is when ed brings dexter to his secret spot
a couple of lawn chairs on the roof of good burger this is where dexter opens up to ed for the very
first time and talks about how his dad left him and his difficult life moving around with his mom
he tells him about this cool yo-yo that his dad gave him and how much that meant to him
and though ed ends up breaking this moment with a silly comment leading dexter to believe that
ed didn't really retain any of what he just told him he's proven wrong later in the film
ed gifts dexter this cool yo-yo because dexter has become his one real friend even though through
their performances in this film you can see why keenan was the one to go on to do snl given that
his character required a bit more range and nuance the reality is that ed's surfer broke caricature
still manages to carry the emotional weight and while watching this movie all these years later
i was filled with nostalgia and laughed thoroughly through and through my big takeaway was how they
managed to move me emotionally through that silliness now during the year of its 25th
anniversary the film is a cult classic for the kids of the 90s not only was the film put on
blu-ray in 2021 there is also some potential for this duo to suit back up in some sort of sequel
aside from them reuniting in recent years to produce the newest season of all that the two
reprised their good burger sketch rules for the 10th anniversary of all that and in september of
2015 keenan and kell appeared on the tonight show starring jimmy fallon to make her a union sketch
for good burger giving the fans a little dose of nostalgia but a few years later in 2018 both
keenan and kel made some comments regarding the future of good burger kel stated that there were
talks for a good burger too at the time as well as later in the year keenan made comments stating
that they are both open to either a sequel or a reboot further proof that people much like johnny
and myself still remember good burger fondly and hold it in a special place in 2019 a pop-up good
burger restaurant opened up partially in part due to promoting all that and celebrating the awesome
shows nickelodeon had in the 90s it was a really cool and fun idea especially for the residents of
los angeles and i'm totally not really jealous a proposed name for a potential sequel was good
burger to go it came from a book of the same title written by steve holland in 1998 a year
after the film came out it would follow the two as they now travel around the world today this idea
could work whether it's globe trotting or not as they can play into food delivery services i mean
they already got the car but yeah good burger was the best thing since the nugget nugget if you're
a fan of good burger i implored you to tell us some of your favorite moments from the film in the
comments as well as if you see it as a potential 90s defining movie if not what's your pick and
thanks so much to johnny for joining me today hey thanks for having me jordan goodberger and
all that were such major parts of my childhood and it was super rewarding to revisit this movie huge
thanks for the invite please check out his channel as well johnny makes some incredible content and
thanks so much to you for watching make sure to hit the like button and subscribe for more
content like this follow me on twitter and i'll be back with another video soon but until then later
you