‘We’re All Dudes’: 15 Trivia Tidbits About ‘Good Burger’
In the summer of 1997, Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson saw their goofy movie, Good Burger, hit theaters in the U.S. While the teen comedy didn’t fare too well with critics, it stole the hearts of young Nickelodeon fans who, to this day, harbor fond memories of the film that invented the strawberry jacuzzi.
With the sequel hitting Paramount+ today, let’s dive into some good trivia about the beloved ’90s comedy and find out what Ed’s secret sauce really tastes like…
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An Almost Animation
Brian Robbins, the director of Good Burger, became the CEO of Paramount Pictures and, in 2021, said that he was looking into creating an animated series for the studio’s streaming service featuring Mitchell, Thompson and the occasional talking burger. Of course, we now know that they opted for a (mostly) live-action sequel instead.
Proto-Ed Got Kel Mitchell On ‘All That’
The film is based on a sketch from Mitchell and Thompson’s Nickelodeon teen sketch series, All That. In fact, Mitchell created and did an early version of Ed for his All That audition. “I remember I was a sophomore in high school,” he told A.V. Club. “I had finals that week. I never forget a monologue, but I forgot my monologue when I went into the audition. I froze, and then they were like, ‘You can go out, and you can go think about it and come back in.’ So I said, ‘Cool.’ And then I went out, and I knocked over some of the camera cords, and the camera sailed and everything, and I was like, ‘Okay. I ruined this audition.’ But they thought it was funny because I played it off in a funny way because I’m real physical. I came back in, and I rocked the monologue, and then they told me to do impersonations, and I did all these crazy impersonations of my uncles and people I’ve seen on the street in Chicago on the bus and stuff like that. I did a ‘dude’ voice, and that’s where Ed was kind of born. I did that there at the audition. They were just cracking up.”
There’s Already Been a Sequel
Back in 1998, Aladdin Paperbacks published a children’s novel titled Good Burger 2 Go that takes place following the film. It was penned by Steve Holland, a writer on shows like The Big Bang Theory and iCarly, and features Ed chasing a shortchanged customer around the world while the restaurant is running out of Ed’s Sauce.
The ‘Good Burger’ Reunion Sketch
In 2015, Thompson and Mitchell performed a reunion sketch on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The fans’ reaction made the two realize a sequel might not be the worst idea.
The Milli Vanilli Effect
Ed’s hair was based on the infamous ’90s German R&B act. “I remember I went to the hair room, and I saw these braids,” Mitchell told A.V. Club about creating Ed for the first sketch in All That. “It was like these early Brandy ’90s Milli Vanilli braids. I put those on, and it came to life. From there, it was history.”
The Soundtrack Made the Billboard Charts
Featuring Mitchell performing “We’re All Dudes” with Less Than Jake and a track called “Man” by the Presidents of the United States of America, the Good Burger soundtrack hit number 101 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 65 on Billboard’s U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Mitchell Wrote ‘We’re All Dudes’ in a Day
“I remember I flew out to Florida to record with them (Less Than Jake), and they were crazy — like, bouncing around on the couches and everything,” Mitchell told BuzzFeed. “I wrote the song in one day at a hotel in L.A., and then I did it for the producers, and they flew me out to sit down with Less Than Jake. We recorded it in one day, and they still perform it.”
The Spicoli Effect
During an oral history with Complex, director Brian Robbins (who also co-created All That) revealed some inspiration behind the “Good Burger” sketch. “We thought we’d do a sketch about that guy at the fast-food restaurant who’d be just like Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Kel’s basically doing Spicoli,” he explained.
The Keanu Effect
“I really liked Keanu Reeves, and he has that type of voice with ‘Vaya con Dios’ and all that,” Mitchell explained to Complex about creating Ed, “so I took it from there and watched a lot of Saved by the Bell and mixed those into this ‘dude’ voice I would do all the time in (my hometown) Chicago for my friends.”
The ’Where Are They Now?’ Automobile Addition
After the movie’s release, the Burgermobile was first snatched up by the International Hamburger Hall of Fame and the Hamburger Museum in Florida. In 2019, the newly renovated 1975 AMC Pacer was sold to the Hi-Pointe Drive-In in St. Louis.
Introducing Linda Cardellini
It was the Freaks and Geeks and Dead to Me star’s first feature film. “That’s my sister’s favorite role that I’ve ever played! It was so much fun,” she said in her one-on-one interview with A.V. Club. “It was my first film, and it was a fantastic part. I got to play crazy! Nobody knew who I was, and I got the part from the table read.”
More Meat!
Mitchell said during an interview back in 1997 that, at one point, “There was over 1,750 pounds of meat on the set.” Thompson added that eating those burgers — some of which sat around for quite a while before scenes were filmed — wasn’t always that great an experience. “I felt sorry for the extras who had to eat them with cold, clammy fries,” he said. “But on screen, those burgers look good.”
COVID Killed Manny’s El Loco
Most fans know that the film was shot at Manny’s El Loco in West Covina, an establishment that’s been in business since 1971 but, sadly, had to close its doors when the pandemic hit in 2020.
Introducing Carmen Electra (in Comedy)
Yes, we might never have laughed at Carmen Electra unsuccessfully running from Ghostface in that classic opening of Scary Movie if it weren’t for this silly kids’ movie. “It was my first time doing physical comedy,” she told Complex about her brief appearance in Good Burger. “I didn’t come to L.A. to be an actress. I was a dancer and had studied my whole life to do that.” She added that the movie “opened the door for me to do Scary Movie and all the other goofy stuff I love to do by letting the audience know that I’m willing to make fun of myself.”
What Ed’s Sauce Tastes Like
Thanks to Mitchell, we now know what Ed’s magic sauce tastes like, as the actor told BuzzFeed in 2015, “Well, it tastes like a little bit of lemonade, then a bit of barbecue — I can’t tell you! But on set, in the real world, it tastes like In-N-Out sauce from the secret menu, which is pretty funny.”
