Sausage Party, the new ADULT oriented animated comedy written by the same folks who brought you This Is The End and The Night Before is quite an experience. Co-Directed by Greg Tiernan (Thomas & Friends) & Conrad Vernon (Monsters Vs. Aliens & Shrek 2), this is the most edgy animated film I’ve seen since South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut.
Our story begins with a song, minutes before the grocery store, Shopwell’s, opens. All of the individual food products, condiments, meats, and produce have a life of their own, and serenade the morning with their hopes of being purchased and transcending to the “great beyond.” You see, these various hot dogs, buns, bagels, and potatoes all hope of a day when they are purchased by the gods (people) to live a life of joy and wonderment outside the walls of the supermarket. Of course, this is not the case, and our whimsical cast of animated food are treated to a shocking reality check, spurring them forward into a fight for survival. They do not want to be eaten, they want to live, and pursue their kinky desires, without being slaughtered for our nutrition.
The plot is silly and the writing is scathingly brash. The entire script is dripping with pun after pun, and the endless possibilities of animation allow said puns to literally come to life before your eyes. The jokes are relentless and by no means pull their punches. You must not be easily offended by off-color humor to enjoy this film, as you are in for a serving of racial and sexual humor of colossal proportions. Also, it’s freaking HILARIOUS!!! You may hate it, but it will get you giggling, despite yourself.
That being said, the movie actually carries a powerful message, and it kind of takes you by surprise after you recover from the insanity of the film itself. These silly food-people were brainwashed by media and by each other. They commit to an unbelievable & self-propagating lie regarding the very essence of the world around them. They break free from the fallacy that has kept them docile and voluntary participants in their own demise, and damn it, they take action! Isn’t this a message that we should be paying attention to? Aren’t we all blinded in some way by socially sanctioned lies and don’t we all just kind of do nothing? The filmmakers challenge the audience to look past the illusions that we easily accept as truth, and lift the veil towards true enlightenment. It’s Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, done with wiener jokes and food orgies. You know, deep stuff!
The film also touches on the wastefulness of food in our society, the insane surplus that we have in our country, and the lack of respect for the value of what we eat. I couldn’t imagine what a viewing of this movie would be like in a nation that struggles with poverty and famine.
Brilliant and hysterical, my only complaint is that it becomes too much of a good thing by the second act. Since there is no emotional connection with the characters, the novelty starts to wear thin and the shock value gives way to a bit of redundancy. I think this could have been solved by clipping the film down by about ten minutes. Every scene is funny, but the same kind of funny, so it gets a bit old in a few scenes. Thankfully, this wears off as the filmmakers ratchet up the action and edgy humor in the third act, leading to a strange ending.
It’s a good movie, tackling some major societal issues in a way that a live action film couldn’t, with a hot dog leading the way. Definitely worth multiple viewings, Sausage Party is a unique film and will probably join the ranks as one of the most epic late night comedies of all time. Get your buns to the theater, and for the love of God, don’t bring your kids!
Thanks for reading,
Diva Del Mar
