JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Do you remember the movie "Good Burger"? It is one of the great '90s cult classics, starring Kel Mitchell as Ed and Kenan Thompson as Dex - two best friends working at the same fast-food restaurant. And now, more than 25 years later, the burger-slinging duo is back with "Good Burger 2."
KEL MITCHELL: We've been wanting to do part 2 since part 1. I was very excited to jump back into it to see Ed, you know, owning the place and actually having kids in the film. I just felt like it was cool to see him as an adult.
SUMMERS: That's Kel Mitchell. His character, Ed, is a goofy, good-natured and lovable guy with a very distinctive voice.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "GOOD BURGER")
MITCHELL: (As Ed) Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger. Can I take your order?
SUMMERS: He says he developed that voice as a kid while playing with his cousins.
MITCHELL: We would say, wouldn't it be cool, like, if "Saved By The Bell" lived in Chicago - the kids from there - and how would they talk, you know what I mean? - these California kids. And so we would, like, talk about Chicago stuff, but talk, you know, like we were valley kids, like, (imitating valley voice) wow, dude. Yeah.
SUMMERS: That character was a breakout role for Mitchell, and he still gets asked to do that voice all these years later.
MITCHELL: Literally happened about an hour ago (laughter).
SUMMERS: I caught up with Kel Mitchell to discuss the film, in which Ed and Dex reunite at their beloved Good Burger after years apart.
MITCHELL: Ed and Dex haven't seen each other in a while. And Dex is off, you know, doing some of his harebrained schemes, right? And he gets - one of those schemes, ends up, you know, messing up a lot of stuff for him. And so he has to figure out - what is he going to do next? Where is he going to go? Who can he talk to? And a lot of his friendships he kind of burned bridges with, but he hasn't talked to Ed in a while. So he's like, well, let me give Ed a call. So he goes and meets up with Ed, and Ed gives him a job at Good Burger. And then it gets zany. Like, a lot of things happen - bunch of adventures happen. You know, I don't want to give it away, so - but it's just, like, a lot of fun stuff happens from there.
And it's cool, too, because, when we were putting this together, we wanted to have some emotion in there, too. So when you watch "Good Burger 2," there is some dramatic parts where you see Ed have a dramatic side, too, as well. And that was important to me to show that.
SUMMERS: Do any favorite moments come to mind from filming that really just stuck with you and felt like it was fun to be there and, like, what "Good Burger" and the "Good Burger" universe are all about?
MITCHELL: Oh, man. Well, yeah. If you stepped on a "Good Burger 2" set, it was so much fun - just from laughter from start to finish. And that's our thing. We wanted everyone to have fun when they stepped on the set. One of my favorite scenes is the super salad. It's just a very, very funny scene.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "GOOD BURGER 2")
MITCHELL: (As Ed) Oh, I'll have a burger.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) And would you like soup or salad?
MITCHELL: (As Ed) A super salad? What does a super salad look like? Wow. What is its super powers? Wait, how did he get its super powers? Was it bitten by radioactive cucumber? Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Salad it is.
MITCHELL: (As Ed) Ah, cool.
SUMMERS: I mean, there is so much that we could talk about this movie, and I don't want to spoil things. But for me, one of the brightest things that shone through is this really beautiful, lovely story about friendship and loyalty. So I want to ask you about your friendship with Kenan Thompson. I mean, you guys had not been on a set like this together for years. What was it like working together again and reprising these characters?
MITCHELL: Yeah, so me and Kenan always talk about this because, you know, for everyone else, it's a reunion. We've stayed in contact. But then as far as, like, being on screen together with these characters, it is a surreal moment, and it is a great moment. When we both stepped on set in Rhode Island and walked the Good Burger restaurant, that's when it started to really become real.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "GOOD BURGER 2")
MITCHELL: (As Ed) When you were gone, I would look at this picture of us and remember all the fun times.
KENAN THOMPSON: (As Dex) Oh, I remember this day. This is when we went paintballing, and we lost because we were on the same team. But you shot me in the back of the head.
MITCHELL: (As Ed) Fun times, man. Hey, look, I know how busy and successful you are, but it really means a lot that you came to see me.
THOMPSON: (As Dex) Well, you're my best friend - kind of my only friend.
MITCHELL: For us, man, I mean, like, this is like my brother. This is what you hope for with - when you're playing a character - that, you know, you have these friendships that last. You know, usually, when you say cut in some of these movies, you might not talk to the person again for a while. But for us, it's been awesome. It's like this family that we have. And with the comedy, it was like riding a bike, you know, and we got right back into it. The first day, it was just like, OK, let's get into it. It was just kind of like a unicycle where it was almost like, we got it, but then it was a full-on bike and we were ready.
SUMMERS: What did it feel like, then, when you all finished those final scenes, and filming was over?
MITCHELL: Oh, emotional. The last scene that we filmed on "Good Burger 2" was a concert scene with Nicole Byer. And it was a big old crowd because, obviously, it was a concert scene. And I remember we got up there, and we had to sing "I'm A Dude," which I wrote a new remix to the original "I'm A Dude" song, and so we had the entire crowd singing that.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALL DUDES (REMIX)")
MITCHELL: (Singing) I'm feeling G-double-O-D. That means I'm good if you know me. I got my family and all of my dudes.
And then we let them know that this is our last day of filming on "Good Burger 2." And it was just this outpouring of love from the crowd. Our entire cast and crew were upset that it was ending 'cause they were having so much fun. And that's a beautiful feeling to feel. And I remember - just overcome with emotion. I almost teared up because we were giving our speeches at the end of it all, and it was just a great moment.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALL DUDES (REMIX)")
MITCHELL: (Singing) We don't need no beef...
...Unless it's a Good Burger. Uh, uh, come on.
(Singing) I'm a dude. He's a dude. She's a dude. We're all dudes, hey.
SUMMERS: Kel, what do you think it is about "Good Burger" that makes this movie, this place, so relevant still to so many people, even 25-plus years later?
MITCHELL: You know, I really feel like it's the underdog story, you know what I mean? Like, it's the mom-and-pop restaurant - you know? - going up against these major corporations, and you're rooting for them. You know what I mean? You're really rooting for them. And then it's also, too, like - I explain this all the time - like, it's, like, "Good Burger" feels like comfort food, right? Like, when you eat comfort food, you have a memory of the first time you ate it, and then the moment that you're eating it at that moment. And so that's what "Good Burger 2" gives you. It gives you all this, like, great nostalgia, but then what's to come in the future and what you're doing now. And the family aspect of it all, where this is a movie that you can watch with everyone - you know? - from grandma all the way down to the toddler. Everybody can be on the couch. And we're bringing that back, where you can just have the whole family watch and no one has to leave the room.
SUMMERS: And Kel, I do have to ask you before we let you go - we've got to hear the line.
MITCHELL: (Laughter) I love that. I got you.
(As Ed) Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger. Can I take your order? Wow. Yeah, that was cool.
(LAUGHTER)
SUMMERS: That was cool. We have been talking with Kel Mitchell. He plays Ed in "Good Burger 2," streaming now on Paramount+. Thank you, Kel.
MITCHELL: Thank you so much. Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALL DUDES (REMIX)")
MITCHELL: (Singing) I'm not down in the dumps now. Up here shining like the sun now. What a view.
Woah, feels good. Let's go.
(Singing) So smile with me. Come on, show those teeth. We don't need no beef...
...Unless it's a Good Burger. Uh, uh, come on.
(Singing) I'm a dude. He's a dude. She's a dude. We're all dudes, hey.
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