✯✯✯

A lot is to be expected out of a film like Sausage Party and there’s one extent to which it is certainly providing of what it promises and another to where, maybe it’s just a “been there, done that” moment. That said, I had a blast with Sausage Party and while it’s certainly something I didn’t expect myself to enjoy for it is quite juvenile for my own tastes, I’m not lying when I talk about how much fun I had watching it. My relationship with Seth Rogen’s work is rather interesting, as he’s an actor I have great respect for although his schtick is not something that has always appealed to my tastes. However, when he successfully appeals there, it is easy for myself to have a fun time.

Seth Rogen and Kristen Wiig as a sausage and a hot dog bun, respectively.

Sausage Party, being the first CGI-animated film to receive an R rating from the MPAA, parodies what is often remembered of the work of Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks. The bare bones of Sausage Party carry a plot that could easily sound like a children’s film and it carries some of the clichés that can come about from such films, in which we have talking objects and musical numbers (amazingly they got Alan Menken to conduct) but instead what is provided is indeed very vulgar, which provides both the best and worst aspects to Sausage Party. It was neat enough watching how Sausage Party was bending around the rules that such films can create in order to be its own thing, and things get much more ridiculous there.

The crude animation is one thing that can aid what Sausage Partyis aiming for. You can easily come back and look at Zootopia or Finding Dory from earlier this year and it is obvious that both films are much better in terms of the animation, but given how crude Sausage Party is in terms of the content it shows, it only fits that the animation would capture such a vibe too. It helps in giving the audience a sense of what they should expect when they are watching Sausage Party, much in the sense that the style Trey Parker and Matt Stone aim for with episodes of South Park captures its own vulgar spirit. It is sure to offend a certain group of moviegoers as expected, as it’s certainly not a film for everyone’s liking.

All of the cast members are wonderful, as I’ve always enjoyed listening to Seth Rogen lending his own voice to animated features and in here, it was no exception. There’s an admirable sense of energy to be boasted from the all-star cast which has been assembled for such a film, whether you listen to performers like Bill Hader, Edward Norton, or Kristen Wiig providing their share, because every last line delivered was oozing with the charisma that would keep such a film all the more delightful to watch. No matter how big or small their roles were, there’s always something coming along to which an audience member can laugh along with – something I certainly did the whole time.

I feel like where Sausage Party really missed the mark though was with its attempts at being much deeper, at least when it comes to the commentary it tries to incorporate about religion. Given the crude nature of the film, I can’t seem to help but feel it was so ham-fisted in by this screenplay and it also bogs the experience down a tad. What also bothers me was that even inside of a rather short length of 88 minutes, every other word had to be an f-bomb or a c-bomb, or any form of profanity. Now I’m not one to speak against the use of profanity on film, but given that it is a single joke that spreads all throughout the film, I get the vibe that when Sausage Party is repeating the swear words over and over again, it is just beating down a single joke to the point that it grows old really fast. However, there’s a fair amount of funny stuff provided that makes up for a single repetitive one that is beaten down to the ground.

Summing up Sausage Party as a whole, it’s crude, but it’s quite the entertaining ride regardless. While I wish it focused on the idea of parodying children’s films more as opposed to just repeating down the crude stuff that is typical of Seth Rogen’s schtick, there’s a lot of fun to be had with a ride like this. It’s certainly not something that will satisfy everyone’s cup of tea, but if one doesn’t like it, I can completely see why and I don’t blame you. I had a blast watching Sausage Party, but even with that said, I wish that it could have done more in order to provide something that truly would be great because there’s a level that still shows where it is still too juvenile for my own tastes.

Watch the trailer right here.

All images via Sony.

Directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon
Screenplay by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir
Produced by Megan Ellison, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Conrad Vernon
Starring Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek
Release Year: 2016
Running Time: 88 minutes