Parents, keep the kiddies at home for this one. Despite the cute animated hot dogs and veggies, “Sausage Party” isn’t for them. Hell, it’s not even for many adults.
Based on the very interesting premise that our favorite foods actually have personalities and human-like thoughts, “Sausage Party” is like “Toy Story” meets “Porky’s.” Oh wow, did I just really date myself. Do people even know of “Porky’s” anymore? Well, all you need to know is that “Sausage Party” is a raunchy comedy that spares no one while taking shots at all sorts of social commentary such as religion, war, politics, race and even sexual assault. Oh, are you easily offended by such antics? Then “Sausage Party” definitely isn’t for you.
Seth Rogen lends his voice as horny hot dog Frank and brings along all of his famous friends including James Franco, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig and Edward Norton to voice other delicious foods. Rogen also wrote the screenplay along with Evan Goldberg, who together brought us comedy favorites “This is the End,” “Superbad” and “Pineapple Express.” You have to give it to these guys, they certainly know the funny. But “Sausage Party” feels like a great idea that the writing team didn’t really know how to turn into an effective film. It’s like those popular Saturday Night Live skits that don’t quite work as a feature length film. Yes, “Sausage Party” is Seth Rogen’s “It’s Pat.”
Okay, perhaps that was a bit harsh and uncalled for. “Sausage Party” actually has a lot of laughs, especially when the food realize the horrors that await them when they are bought and taken home to be feasted on. But the majority of the film is like an uneven road trip movie that takes place in a supermarket with the lead characters going from aisle to aisle on a journey to learn the truth. Some scenes hit, others miss and miss bad. There’s also an unnecessary villain who’s a literal douchebag that feels created entirely to merely stretch the film out to feature length. As funny and crass as he was (voiced by the funny Nick Kroll), no one likes a douchebag.
Once the premise and characters are established, the middle portion of the film drags a bit and I was all ready to score the film a 5 out of 10, but then “the scene” happens. It’s a sequence that could be only dreamt up by Rogen and his writing team, most likely while high on the ganja. This scene is so out there but at the same time hilarious and outrageous. I had to give “Sausage Party” props and another point for that scene alone.
Final Score: 6 / 10
-originally published in Frolic Hawaii