“They’re eating children…fucking children!”
While sometimes a douche is nothing more than a douche, never is a sausage anything other than a penis. And a bun anything more than a vagina (with breasts). It’s a complicated matter that you simply have to see to truly comprehend…though I’m not quite sure Sausage Party, Seth Rogen’s foul-mouthed, politically incorrect anthem to sex and food, warrants your attention.
Careful to never incorporate the use of any name brands, Sausage Party is centered around a generic supermarket where the edibles wait patiently to be “selected” by the Gods to enter the “great beyond”. It’s a layered religious approach that sparks a few early laughs (including a quite impressive opening number that has a catchy melody as the German delicacies proclaim their intent to exterminate “the juice”). But once Frank and Brenda are chosen by a MILF in insanely tight blue jeans, the film’s humor begins to falter.
In much the same vein as 2008’s Pineapple Express, Sausage Party focuses more on the grotesque than the story progression, failing to develop and sprout (pun intended) as the story unfolds. Rogen and company rely too much on the sexual innuendos and coarse language, throwing out a fuck, shit or damn when things appear to be slowing down. And though there is some humor in a package of hot dogs alluding to losing their virginity with the buns stationed next door, it’s hard to find the amusement on the fifth go-around…even if it does involve just the tips.
That isn’t to say that there aren’t bright spots within the film. A lesbian taco (voiced brilliantly by Selma Hayek) and a liquor aisle party help to rejuvenate during the film’s otherwise sluggish second act. And Barry’s heroic take out of Druggie is nothing short of impressive. But those moments are short lived. And while a villainous douche makes things a bit interesting, it isn’t able to return the story to the glory that was the first fifteen minutes.
Much like Team America: World Police and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Sausage Party attempts to shock you with its crude and raunchy spirit. The main issue is that the aforementioned films succeeded in their mission with a higher level of intelligence and a better understanding of their audience. A genius idea makes for a great starting point, especially when it comes to sex and food. But somewhere along the way this ode to food porn loses its footing, coming across like a group of stoners playing with their groceries while experiencing the most epic high imaginable.
That said, Sausage Party does go out with a bang…literally. Offering up a visual ecstasy that makes good on all the innuendoes that left you strongly questioning whether you’d ever be able to eat a bagel…or taco…or burrito again, you will likely be laughing as you exit the theater. But that visual will slowly fade as you recall the one joke film that laid before the final minute montage. It was entertaining, and somewhat fun, but there wasn’t much meat to sink your teeth into.
