Seth Rogen strikes again with another paradoxical, boundary pushing, ‘stoner’ movie. Will it rise to the level of infamy like the ‘The Interview‘ or glide under the radar?
Set to the backdrop of a fourth of July sale in a supermarket, the packaging comes off in the ultimate food fight. Two hot dogs, Seth Rogen (Frank) and Micheal Cera (Barry), line up in their packaging ready for their big day. Tantalisingly close, but an ocean of packaging apart stand between the pair and a couple of buns sharing a similar fate. Kristen Wiig (Brenda) shares Frank’s feelings that they are made for each other. However, what madness would befall them should they step outside of the packaging?
Frank and Brenda’s packaged world spirals further and further out of control. On a journey of discovery and retribution, the couple meet a colourful variety of characters, all challenging their preconceived conceptions with every turn. Rogen uses different cuisine, humans and food etiquette to create thinly veiled metaphors for our lives. There are no punches pulled, as every social and religious taboo is explored and tested. This is done cleverly in a strangely tastefully untasteful way. While the film is certainly crude and not for the closed-minded, the positive factors and fears of the religious are addressed. Brenda fills the role of guilty catholic well and reacts to Franks atheism in a believable and understandable way. Of course, there’s no chance religion would ever be removed from the world overnight, leaving the writers imagination open to the maddest, most shocking finalé for their Coup de grâce.
Visually the animation is as accomplished as Toy Story or Monsters Inc. although there is nothing overly unique or stylised in the artistic direction, but it’s effective to its purpose. The soundtrack is well chosen and arguably contributes to one of the best moments of the film… given the food references it may be easily guessable.
Sausage Party clearly has a rightful place in the theatre due to it’s pertinent and current messages, the medium in which it has been presented however is certainly not as clever as it could have been. Written in Rogen’s usual style and for his usual audience, the films message is unlikely to challenge its viewers, primarily because its viewers are likely to be sympathetic to its opinions. It is possible however, that the medium was chosen as a path of least resistance, with the studio wincing at the possibility of challenging every world religion simultaneously.
Rarely do I walk out of a cinema so confused, I know what I saw, but somehow my brain seems unable to process it. Initially, the scripting seemed crass and overly simplistic, lulling you into an ever deeper inception of the ideals behind the plot. This is compounded by an A-list cast of actors lending their voices to a script that has to be seen to be believed. With the latter considered, I surprise myself by realising the film has to lean on the side of genius rather than stupidity, purely because there are not many films I find myself immediately wanting to re-watch and share with others.
Author: Joe, Bath Store
Joe’s review of Sausage Party is fantastically genius, because when I first saw a clip of the film, I thought nope, not for me! However, his review has whetted my appetite for possibly something I won’t be able to unsee x-D