Seth Rogen and his posse return to provide voices for a grocery store of food desperate to be purchased and consumed by the human “gods” with an almost religious fervor. However when a hot dog named Frank discovers that purchase does not lead to the paradise that they have been told awaits them, he sets out to expose them all to the truth in hopes of saving them from inevitable death and instill within them belief that can hopefully inspire them to live the more enriching lives that they deserve.
Rogen takes one step closer towards his destiny as the rich man’s Adam Sandler as in addition to a string of consistently solid and even occasionally insightful comedies, he successfully breaks into the one territory that even Sandler could never quite crack; animation.
It’s hard to really breakdown the deeper meanings of “Sausage Party” because one of the best things about the film is that it wears everything it is, aims to be, and represents on its sleeve.
As an adult comedy propelled from scene to scene with low brow jokes, it thoroughly explores the high and low end of the barrel, as a parody of wholesome family films, it never drops its cover with disturbingly surreal results, and as a criticism of religion as an institution, despite being scathing in ways probably beneficial to society and their perceptions of religion in general, can come off as patronizing and offensively preachy to the most liberal minded of viewers regarding an issue so personal.
There’s no right answer to whether you should find “Sausage Party” too offensive to find funny or too funny to find offensive but its willingness to take a risk knowing that the best comedy comes with a hard edge reveals a certain back bone that makes for what’s truly praiseworthy.
All three of the film’s aforementioned aspects don’t merely fire on all cylinders but serve to balance out the social commentary and diffuse content that could be conveyed as offensive with the more lighthearted spirit that it was intended to be taken in.
Even if the select number of racial and cultural representations chosen didn’t play up their stereotypes to a level of parody, it’s hard to single one specific instance out as wrong when not only every demographic gets lampooned but the script goes a step further by reaffirming how outdated those preconceptions are. This, in turn, elevates the standard low brow jokes on adult subject matter into a serviceable purpose.
Furthermore, although the angle of criticizing religion can be taken in a negative light, I personally view it more as a criticism of holding it up as an institution. The way in which we choose to make sense of existence is personal but we should be wary of what suppresses our needs in the present in a system that twists pure ideals and concepts into potentially corrupt agenda.
“Sausage Party” is a spot on social commentary with solid comedic timing and excellent voice performances, while making excellent use of its clearly limited animation budget (hopefully not at the expense of its artists if rumors are to be believed), shooting for creativity in its visuals over expensive technical feats.
Where the film falls short is in territories that are admirably thought out yet awkwardly executed as a part of its own experimental nature. The harder hitting and more memorable jokes don’t start to surface until about the halfway mark of the film, which can make the short hour and a half length feel a tad poorly paced. The other side is the jokes that I still don’t quite know whether they’re funny or just memorably surreal, like a riff on the ending dance number of children’s animated movies following the climax that left me wide eyed, slack jawed and lightly awkwardly chuckling for almost a minute straight.
“Sausage Party” is unafraid to say what it has to say in the way that it intends to say it and does so fully aware that it’s probably not going to win everybody over. What it does manage to do however is succeed at what it sets out to do and if you were even mildly interested in the film, it will probably prove to be right up your alley.
7 Buffet Holocausts out of 10
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