Sausage Party, written by Seth Rogen and his merry band of blockbuster screenplay writing machines, is a delicious feast of hilarious stupidity packed into a store bought bun. And by that, puns aside, I mean that the film was funny, surprisingly clever and exactly what I was expecting. The animation was smart and the facial expressions were well executed. I always appreciate any departure from the digital standard set by Disney and Pixar. It was incredibly easy to lose yourself in the film and sympathise with food items. So here's the basic rundown of the plot: perishable goods in every supermarket are under the illusion that being purchased and taken home with humans is the 'great beyond' and a place that food aspires to go. But as Frank the sausage, Brenda the bun and a few of their friends are eventually picked up in the market, the discover the unfortunate truth and their inevitable fate in the human stomach from the mouth of a PTSD suffering mustard. From this point on, scenes of Frank's journey to discover the truth are cut together with scenes of other groceries being prepared in the kitchen. Shit gets weird but it's great.
The cast was as you would expect in a Seth Rogen backed film. Filled to the brim with the A-list, B-list and the I-Forgot-You-Exist of Hollywood. However, without a doubt, the best (voice) performance was supplied by Rogen. The abundance of dirty jokes perfectly executed in his infamous grasp made for a truly entertaining character. It's painfully clear throughout how invested Rogen is in the film. Every joke, scene and plot point screams his name and it has resulted in a really funny film. However, I would argue that this film should have been an 18 not a 15 like it is here in the UK. Some of the content was definitely not for the ears of impressionable school kids. Especially the celebratory orgy after they overpower the 'gods' in the supermarket. Spoilers ahead.
The final scene of this film, after the afore mentioned orgy, is unlike anything we've seen on screen since Enchanted in 2007. The gang are told by Firewater, an ancient drink who seems to know everything, that they are in fact cartoons and even shows Frank an image of Seth Rogen in the fire. Together they then travel through a portal to cut the 'puppet' strings they believe they are controlled by. This was, frankly (pun intended), an amazing way of ending a film like Sausage Party. Let's just add some more surrealism in to the mix and hope for the best! Sometimes the most successful way of building a fictional universe is by testing the limits and trying something that is even stranger than its predecessor.
With Rogen already discussing the possibility for a sequel, I don't think this will be the last we see of Frank, Brenda and the gang. With an Enchanted type film hinted at before the closing credits, I'm excited to see what the team come up with. Rogen has really come into his own in the last 5 years, proving that although his style of acting and choice of films are all from the same weed smelling cloth, he can still draw an audience and make them laugh. It's also worth noting that this was a film I saw myself at 11am on a Tuesday and I still enjoyed it.
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