ReelBob: ‘Sausage Party’
By Bob Bloom
I don’t know what Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Jonah Hill were smoking when they were bouncing around ideas for “Sausage Party,” but for future projects, they need to do more of it.
In a nutshell, “Sausage Party” is 88 solid minutes of laughs. Not just ha-ha laughs, but belly-shaking guffaws that make your theater seat shake.
Interspersed with all the laughs in this R-rated animated feature is a story of faith vs. skepticism.
Most of the movie is set in the aisles of a “Superwell” supermarket, where the various foods on the shelves await the day when the gods take them to the promised land, where they believe they will live happily ever after.
One sausage, Frank (voiced by Rogen), lives for the day when he can get inside a bun named Brenda (voiced by Kristen Wiig).
Mishaps separate Frank and Brenda, during which time Frank learns an alarming truth about the supermarket and the fate of its inhabitants.
To reveal any more would be to spoil this very funny feature, which is loaded — some may gripe that it’s overloaded — with profanity, sexual innuendo and situations, violence and political incorrectness.
Many people, especially those with narrow minds and limited senses of humor, will find the movie offensive.
On several levels, “Sausage Party” definitely is not for children.
From its song-filled beginning to its “Stargate”-homage ending, “Sausage Party” is hilarity, keeping you cemented to the screen.
The jokes, verbal and visual, fly by so quickly that you may have to see the film twice to catch them all.
The movie, directed by Conrad Vernon (“Shrek 2” and “Monsters vs. Aliens”) and Greg Tiernan (several episodes of “Thomas & Friends”), is self-aware and does not attempt to be something it is not.
The all-star voice cast includes Hill, Danny McBride, James Franco, Salma Hayek, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Bill Hader and David Krumholtz.
Standing out, though, is Nick Kroll — the nominal villain — as Douche, who is out to eliminate Frank because he accidentally damaged the feminine hygiene product, as well as Scott Underwood as Gum, whose “Terminator 2” in-joke brings down the house.
“Sausage Party” is an unrelenting whirlwind of lowbrow and objectionable jokes and situations that will make it difficult for you to catch your breath.
The finale, especially, will send some prudes scampering from the theater.
It also is an unsubtle, biting political and theological satire that, after the laughs die down and the credits roll, makes you think.
This movie tosses out some big ideas for you to chew on. But, be careful of your portions, or you will choke on your laughter.
Bloom is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. His reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). He also reviews Blu-rays and DVDs. He can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom.
SAUSAGE PARTY
4 stars out of 4
(R), for profanity, sexual content, language, violence