Movie Review: “Sausage Party” is irreverent but funny

Movie Review: “Sausage Party” (R)

“Sausage Party” might be an animated feature, but don’t be fooled. This isn’t a movie for the family. Unless your family is supremely f***ed up!

This becomes abundantly clear in the first three minutes of “Sausage Party” when, following a spirited musical number, a handful of the film’s central characters begin using words that Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny wouldn’t be caught dead uttering. And you know what? This film is all the funnier for it. “Sausage Party” might be irreverent, vile, and juvenile, but it’s righteously hilarious. And believe it or not, this shocking look at food gone wild has a lot to say about the world we live in.

In the colorfully obscene “Sausage Party,” a lovable host of happy-go-lucky grocery store items spend their days hoping and dreaming that they’ll be purchased by a consumer and taken to “the great beyond.” Of course when a handful of these items get their wish, they quickly realize that “the great beyond” is a sham. The truth behind their overall purpose in this world is a shock to say the least. In short, these food items discover that the word “consumer” has more than one meaning.

Disturbed and dismayed by this horrific truth, heroic sausage Frank (voiced by “Sausage Party” co-writer Seth Rogen), decides it’s up to he and his fearless pals to escape from their current predicament and get back to the store so that they can warn their edible brotherhood about the truth that awaits them. Along the way, Frank’s love for his potential soulmate, cute hot dog bun Brenda (voiced by the great Kristen Wiig), continues to flourish until a difference of opinion threatens to destroy their blossoming relationship.

“Sausage Party” is to Pixar what “Deadpool” is to superhero movies. It has quite a bit in common with “Toy Story,” only instead of cuddly toys coming to life when humans aren’t around, “Sausage Party” features deceptively cute food items with a taste for colorful language and sexual innuendo. Beyond that though, there is a certain level of creativity and cleverness at the heart of this raunchfest. As was the case with Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s hilarious “Team America: World Police,” there are plenty of smarts to go along with this film’s relentless shock gags and “I can’t believe they went there” moments.

“Sausage Party” is sure to ruffle feathers with its fierce, transgressive approach. Nothing is off limits in this picture. There’s a lesbian taco (voiced by an adorable Salma Hayek) with eyes for Brenda, a playful jab at those with a belief in a higher power, and a positively shocking sequence that could best be described as food porn … literally!

Yes, “Sausage Party” relies heavily on the shock factor — and no doubt this film’s unbridled enthusiasm for the blatantly offensive will not be everybody’s cup of tea. Still, I’d be hard pressed to pick a comedy this year that made me laugh harder and more consistently than “Sausage Party” (possibly, “Hunt For the Wilderpeople,” but this is an entirely different kind of comedy). There’s a “Saving Private Ryan” battle homage in this picture that is an all-timer in terms of absolute hilarity, but it is but one of several effective gags worth noting.

Furthermore,  “Sausage Party” is extremely well crafted. The animation isn’t quite up to Pixar standards, but it’s close. As directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon and written by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Kyle Hunter, and Ariel Shaffir, “Sausage Party” is colorful and vibrant and features a wonderful host of multicultural characters.

And the vocal work is spot on. Rogen, Wiig, Hayek, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Craig Robinson, and Paul Rudd are fantastic here. And props to supporting player Edward Norton whose hilarious vocal work as a neurotic bagel would even make the legendary Woody Allen proud.

You have been warned! Just because “Sausage Party” is an animated movie with cute characters at its center doesn’t automatically make it a family film (remember “South Park”?). Having said that, for those of you who can handle irreverent jokes at a relentless clip, this movie for you. It certainly had me in stitches for the majority of its running time, but perhaps what was most surprising is the idea that this film does have something to say about the spirit and strength that comes with unity. It should also be noted, though, that “Sausage Party” gives entirely new meaning to the phrase, “you are what you eat.”

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