सॉसेज पार्टी

Sausage Party, the latest button-pusher from Seth Rogen and his usual crew, has so far grossed $135 million on a $19 million budget, receiving mainly positive reviews from critics and assisted by strong word-of-mouth thanks to a climactic scene which won't allow you to look at a hot dog in quite the same way again. Essentially a movie about anthropomorphic, sexually repressed food items who long to escape the confines of their supermarket home to reach the 'Great Beyond' - taken home by us humans - Sausage Party is a mixed bag. On one hand, it's a bold religious parable featuring some extremely creative animation, but on the other, at least comedy wise, this is on par with some of Rogen's most mediocre output.

In a supermarket named Shopwell's, the various tasty treats that line the shelves spend their days praying they will be picked and taken to the great unknown by shoppers, who they view as gods. Each morning starts with a sing-a-long, and they try to live their life by a set of rules they believe will led to them being chosen, including no sex until they're out of their packet. Hot dog Frank (Rogen) only allows himself to touch tips with the bun he's in love with, Brenda (Kristen Wiig), saving themselves for the inevitable day when they get carried off into paradise. But with the return of Honey Mustard (Danny McBride), who claims that he witnessed torture and horror at the hands of the 'gods' who devoured some of his friends, Frank sets off on a journey of discovery and awakening.

Similar in many ways to Pixar's Toy Story trilogy, Sausage Party imagines what it would be like if the food we consume to eagerly could talk to each other and wonders what they would make of us. But while Woody and co. would flop to the ground whenever a human walked in the room, the characters here exist in the 'fourth dimension', unseen by humans. This allows more freedom for directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon to deliver as many outlandish set pieces as they would like, and two scenes in particular - one inspired by Saving Private Ryan (1998) and the other featuring an Irish potato being skinned alive while his friends watch - are actually quite terrifying. The film is certainly at its best during these moments, and there are scenes of real ingenuity amongst the carnage.

The first half whizzes by and is a blast, but then the film seems to lose direction and wander aimlessly from one scene to another. It also struggles to tickle the funny bone, and relies too heavily on tired food puns, familiar shtick from the likes of James Franco, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd and Bill Hader, and outright vulgarity. Someone should point out to the writers - which include Rogen and regular collaborator Evan Goldberg - that using "f**k" every other word doesn't automatically make a film 'adult', but quickly becomes unpleasant and completely unnecessary, especially when the characters are otherwise perfectly likable. Also, the inclusion of Douche (Nick Kroll), the cavity-cleaner who holds a grudge against Frank, serves only a distraction from the more interesting central plot.

Still, despite its many flaws and irritating tics, I very much enjoyed Sausage Party for what it is, and it's like nothing I've ever seen before. If you haven't enjoyed much of Rogen's previous output, chances are you won't love Sausage Party, although there's plenty of visual splendour to savour in between the d**k jokes. At its best, it offers interesting parallels to real-world issues, such as the relationship between a lavash named Kareem (David Krumholtz) and a bagel named Sammy (Edward Norton doing a pitch-perfect Woody Allen impression), and their bickering over shelf space. Of course, this is the edible version of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and while it may embrace comedic stereotyping throughout, Sausage Party never intends to offend, and instead offers a surprisingly sympathetic message about the necessity of religion. Whatever your view, the fact that a film like this can be greenlit and unleashed on a mainstream audience is cause for celebration.

I knew what to expect going in to this, coming from the insane minds of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. I saw the trailer, and thought to myself this is gonna be one insane ride. When I came out of The Secret Life of Pets with my mom and my nephew, saw the poster to Sausage Party, I told my mom "Don't be fooled by the poster, that is not a kids movie".

The story speaks the insanity for itself, about food in a grocery store, and that is all I'm gonna tell ya. The animation is top notch, spoofing those Pixar films. The actors really do voice there characters well. Seth Rogen really brings his humor well to his role has a hot dog. If your not a fan of vulgar humor, and gross out gags, then you should probably avoid this like the plague, cause this pulls no punches, it goes straight for the throat. It was very funny, there is perfect timing to all of the gags. It's not a masterpiece, but just a fun time for fans of this type of humor. Expect nothing or less.

Sausage Party is a foul, crass, mean-spirited little film that pits grocery products against the horrifying realization that their use in this world is to be consumed and tossed away without a second thought. Centering on a courtship between a sausage named Frank (Rogen) and a hot dog bun named Brenda (Wiig), the very fact that the discontented ten year old in all of us didn't just giggle at the thought of how they consummate their love is enough proof that this film is juvenile. Yet despite leaning, nudging and winking towards the least discerning of low-brow audiences, Sausage Party is funny enough to have people rolling in the aisles, smart enough to lend itself to cogent meta-commentary and vulgar enough to live in teenage-screen-hopping infamy. Make no mistake, this film is the brass ring, the real deal, the funniest film you're likely to see this year and given this year in comedy, I say it's about damn time.

Before the events of Sausage Party, Brenda and Frank live inside their separate packages; Frank being partnered with friends Carl (Hill) and the diminutive Barry (Cera) among others. Every morning, the denizens of Shopwell sing a song of joy while they lay in waiting for a benevolent god (human) to choose them and take them to the "great beyond". Failure to be chosen, or worse dropped on the floor, means produce is to be thrown away in a seemingly bottomless abyss of a grocery store garbage bin. Frank and Brenda however like their chances. It's a few days till red, white and blue day; what could go wrong? One returned container of Honey Mustard (McBride) who forecasts doom is what can go wrong. That and a particularly testy Douche (Kroll) angered by a grocery cart accident that sullies his chances to be useful.

As an animation, Sausage Party is artfully, colorfully and simplistically rendered. Each section of the grocery store lights up with a look and feel that compliments the local produce. After the doors close the Mexican food area resembles a rustic western cantina, the cookware section beams with the silvery glow of shimmering straight edges and the alcohol aisle is just one big rave. Environments outside the store are limited yet realistically depict the kitchen of a prim housewife and the dingy living room of a bugged out druggie. The less I tell you about the brief street scene, the better. Overall, it's obvious there were limitations in the budget yet if compared to the similarly themed Foodfight! (2012), this film's animation is an artistic triumph.

The embedded oddness of the story lends itself to some pretty unique and funny jokes. Ones that hit the funny-bones of all not easily offended or grossed out. Such highlights include a bagel (Norton) and a lavash (Krumholtz) arguing about having to share an aisle, a Grits (Robinson) package being misplaced by "dirty good-for-nothing' crackers," and legions of sourkraut looking to exterminate the juice. Needless to say there are times when the film get's lost in the tall grass with over-broad ethnic stereotypes (A Native American liquor bottle named Firewater certainly ranks among the most egregious). But let's face it, if you're sold on the premise of a R- Rated animated comedy about food-stuffs you probably won't be too concerned.

Sausage Party is a funny, funny, funny movie that doesn't just hand in shock value laughs for the sake of shock value laughs. It's also a well-created hero's journey with something to say and avoids all the pratfalls of modern comedy by A: not relying on broad improvisational humor and B: lands that third act like it's its b***h! Speaking of which: don't take your kids to go see Sausage Party. This is not the film you can harangue "cool mom" points with, seriously. Keep those little tykes at bay at least until their old enough to purchase their own heroin syringes.

Nothing in the trailers will prepare you for this movie, including what it's actually about. SAUSAGE PARTY is an allegory about religion and how ridiculous it is, but also about how we can overcome our differences and learn to get along. Granted, there is no solution proposed nor does the humor rarely rise above obvious sexual puns and stereotypes (different foods represent ethnic groups, minorities, etc.), but the throw-everything-at-the-wall approach guarantees that at least some of it sticks. And importantly, for a comedy, there are plenty of genuine laughs to be had. Then there's the ending, which I will not spoil. Suffice it to say that it seemed oddly appropriate...and that you can get away with quite a bit more in an animated film than live-action. This wasn't the craziest or funniest thing I've ever seen, but it made for a few dollars and a couple hours well-spent.

The mission, write a review. The movie: Sausage Party. Robbie K here, and I'm back with another assignment to give you the 411 on the latest movies to hit the theater. Tonight the latest animated "masterpiece" is my subject, one crafted by the masters of raunchy comedy. Let's get started.

LIKES: • Originality • Clever writing with wit • Killer Soundtrack • Short run time

If the trailers weren't enough to convince you, then let me assure you that Sausage Party certainly is a more unique film than most. The idea of food coming to life and navigating a supermarket is not something we get these days. Add on the sexual characteristics and personify to add depth to their characters brings even more shine to the movie. I mean making an antagonist who is an actual douche is new to me.

And with originality often comes cleverness, which this movie manages to bring to the mix. There are plenty of movie references and stereotypical humor integrated into the movie, much of which is well times to have you laughing in your seats. I myself enjoyed seeing warzones unfold in Saving Private Ryan manners, or seeing science fiction movie plots breaking into the spot light. But most of you are probably looking for the sexual innuendos promised in the trailers and to your relief it delivers on its promise. The focus of the movie is certainly on promiscuous side with so many descriptions for sex jammed into the 90 minute run time. So many people lost it to the aggressive insults and descriptions for genitalia that it was sometimes hard to hear the movie. There were also plenty of cheesy puns thrown into the mix to relieve some of the dirtier comedy. And for the moments where they broke the fourth wall…that too was a very good choice.

While you certainly don't care about soundtracks in a comedy movie, Sausage Party gets points for the songs they chose. Various classics over the last few decades grace the speakers such as Three Dog Night's Joy to the World, Meatloaf's song (sung by a meatloaf) and a few other tracks to fit into the deranged mood. It's fun, flashy, and a nostalgic twist to only amplify the comedy of this film and well placed throughout the movie. And did I mention that it is only 90 minutes long. A perfect run time to get the message across before going into the overdone territory.

DISLIKES • Disturbing • Jokes that cross the line • Some lazy dialogue • Some tactics that went stale

If you didn't catch the trailers you might have missed some of the more graphic scenes of the movie. Seeing perishable characters be brutally dismembered while hearing screams of despair, anguish, and suffering drowning the theater certainly wasn't the most enjoyable thing to see. Some might find the destruction of food laughable, but the presentation was a bit more disturbing to me than anything. But these fail in comparison to some of the violent fates other characters fall into. Despite the corny, comical theme, those who cringe or feint of heart might want to steel themselves for the chaos at hand. And as for the orgy scenes, well seeing food do it really isn't my cup of tea. But if death and violence aren't enough to cross the line, then perhaps some of the more inappropriate jokes will do it for you. Our writers certainly set out to poke various snakes, making fun of various cultural references that had me sometimes laughing and other times wondering who it will set off. Surely many people will find this movie offensive, especially when customs and traditions are adulterated with sex and monogamy. I won't lie I laughed at it sometimes, but some of the things certainly hit below the belt. Throw in some lazy dialogue moments and you add further insult. Why cursing must become the key ingredient in a comedy, I don't know, but nevertheless Sausage Party doesn't hesitate to haphazardly add swearing to the point of getting annoying. As for jokes growing stale, surprisingly it doesn't happen much in this movie, but there are some gags that lose their punch. Random food popping up at their mentioning is one example, arrogant bragging of the douche was another. To their benefit though, the jokes were pretty well spread out and the short time prevented them from going too overboard with some of the jokes.

VERDICT:

It's hard to score this movie as it isn't the comedy I might prefer. However, keeping in mind its intended audience and joke style, I have to say the movie certainly delivers on its promise to be sexually slanderous and mind numbingly stupid. The story certainly isn't the greatest (or that strong to be honest), but this tale is certainly original in many ways and so creative. However, all the insults and disturbing moments, not too mention the cheaper, low key dialogue moments, take away things for me. So who do I recommend this movie for? Fans of Seth Rogen movies, those who can't get enough raunchy humor, or those who want to see food do it. Worth a trip to the theater? I have to say it is for the audience it delivers for, but hold out until the RedBox if you can wait.

My scores: Animation/Adventure/Comedy: 7.5 Movie Overall: 5