Good Burger

Ultimately, Good Burger is about nothing less than the little guy standing up against fascist rule. The fascists are the folks at Mondo Burger, a new fast-food palace that illegally produces humungo-sized burgers. The little guy is Ed (Kel Mitchell), a teenage doofus who works the register at the nearby rundown Good Burger. When a customer complains to Ed, "I'm going to report your name to the manager," Ed innocently responds, "Why? He already knows my name." Ed, though, turns out to be something of an idiot-savant, and his talent is making the tastiest special sauce around. When Mondo threatens to run Good Burger into the ground, savvy fellow worker Dexter (Kenan Thompson) knows just what to do with the sauce. And if things go according to his plan, he'll be able to pay his teacher (Sinbad in an afro) for crashing his car.

Okay, so Good Burger, based on the recurring Nickelodeon sketch All That, is a pretty awful movie. From the jokes to the acting to the set, this is one amateur affair. Yet, like Saved by the Bell, the film's exaggerated cartoon take on teen life has undeniable charm and, oddly enough, perceptiveness. Plus, George Clinton's cameo as a mental patient leading an asylum in a funk jam is a riot. Opens Friday at the Harbour Mall, Holiday, Showcase, Tri-Boro, Westerly, and Woonsocket cinemas.

-- Mark Bazer