Sausage Party (August 2016)

Official Australian release date: 11/8/16. Viewed: 16/8/16.

Director: Greg Tiernan & Conrad Vernon

Actors: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, Edward Norton

Genre: Comedy

Rating: MA

‘Sausage Party’ is… well, just plain nuts! Probably the best description is “absurd”. It’s certainly unique, being the first ‘adult’ GCI film (not just a cartoon like the ‘South Park’ movie) and it does all it can to push the boundaries of making sure you remember it’s not a kids film (even though it starts with a song), with so many swear words, racial stereotypes, sexual innuendo and drugs in the first 30min that you can’t forget it’s a Seth Rogen film. Frank (the sausage, Rogen) and his girlfriend Brenda (the bun, Wiig) can’t wait to get out of their packages and be united in the “Great Beyond” outside the supermarket.

When Barry (Cera) and Carl (Hill), Frank’s sausage buddies, are bought and find out the truth of what happens to food, they try to return to warn the others. The voice actors are great – Sammy (bagel, Norton), Lavash (Krumholtz), Teresa (taco, Hayek), Douche (Kroll), Firewater (Hader), Grits (Robinson), Honey mustard (McBride). It’s part road trip, part action/‘Die Hard’ and part stoner rom-com. The “human world” vs “food world” distinction is done well, with faded colour vs vibrancy. Some of Rogen’s almost-sermons on not following the religious crap you’re fed without proof is good, but the anti-religion message is lost in the chaos.

It’s not as uproarious as I was hoping – it’s certainly funny and has a lot of chuckles, but there wasn’t many truly hilarious moments for me. Part of that is my expectations being too high – I’ve been waiting for this film for three years and it’s nowhere near as good as ‘Knocked Up’, ‘Superbad’ or ‘Pineapple Express’. Some of the best bits are the morbid/violent bits, not necessarily the dialogue. The last 20min or so didn't really work for me - a bit too much. There’s so much going on and so many things to look at and listen to that some jokes are lost or skipped over.

Overall: Crazy – in a mostly good way.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.