Sausage Party Movie Review - ..... What the f*** did I just watch?!

.... How do you even begin to introduce a movie like this? I mean, it's not like the idea of Toy Story/Wreck-It Ralph/Secret Life of Pets for food was that fresh (no pun intended) of an idea for Hollywood; someone had attempted at that and failed with the infamous Food Fight; but somehow, Seth Rogen and his team straight off of The Interview and This Is the End made this trippy idea work by.... being trippy! Sausage Party is one of the most astonishingly weird animated movies to come out in recent years, and honest to God a marvel in raunchy comedy. If you can make it past the description of the story I'm about to give without being switched off, this is a must-see.

The movie, not even being subtle or evenly paced about food being humanoid in this world they create, follows a hot dog named Frank and his girlfriend hot dog bun named Brenda who follow the common belief that the gods (i.e. humans buying them) choose them to be taken to the great beyond where they will be loved and fulfill their destiny.... Until a can of honey mustard comes back and warns them that the "great beyond" is hokey, and that when they go beyond that door, they get killed. So, Frank and Brenda escape their packages and wander off into the aisle of the immortals (i.e. stuff that never expires) to seek out answers.

Still with me? Cool.

Much like the team's previous work, minus their minutely disappointing holiday flick from last year, the film holds a lot of energy and enthusiasm throughout its raunchy comedy. It's not just guys tripping up and saying the f-word every ten seconds... That's a part of it, but it also takes advantage of a lot of gross-out gags, sex innuendos, and yes, food puns, that deliver a lot of laughs thanks to outstanding energy from a talented cast, as well as from the director. The animation, adding further to Sony's line-up of awesome animated flicks, also adds to the energy, delivering a lot of zany colors and trippy imagery. I wasn't even born when walking, talking food looked this gorgeous.

The viewpoints delivered in this flick are pretty thought-provoking as well, surprisingly. The film is obviously trying to use the "great beyond" as a metaphor for the deities that influence religion, and it delivers similar results as well. When Frank tries to explain to the other foods that the "great beyond" is hokey, they choose not to believe him because... well, how could they go up against gods? The end result to answering that question is so trippy and zany, I'm still sitting at my desk wondering what the crap I just saw (hence the title of this blog). My only complaint is that it could have had further depth by establishing a viewpoint where some of the foods know their destiny and embrace it, accept their death and benefit their gods rather than trying to benefit themselves. (P.S. This is why I'm not vegan.)

But obviously, depth was not its intention. It was going for raunchy comedy, and it works superbly on that level. Honestly, if you looked at the trailer and thought that this would be something you want to see, you're going to get exactly what you expect and more. It holds zany animation and trippy raunchy comedy beyond comprehension, and it adds to this team's amazing comedy line-up. Highly recommended.

My rating: