‘Sausage Party’ is a Hard R-Rated Raunchy Good Time

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Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – First things first. Don’t let the fact this is animated fool you, “Sausage Party” is most decidedly, definitely, absolutely NOT FOR CHILDREN. This is a hard R-rated Seth Rogen raunch fest that may induce nightmares for more sensitive viewers and contains images of animated debauchery that can not be unseen. But it is inventively profane, with more on its mind than just animated f-bombs.

Rogen stars as the voice of a sausage named Frank. He lives in a grocery store where all the various products sing together dreaming of being picked by the gods (aka shoppers) who will take them to the great beyond outside the automatic doors. He’s also in love with a hot dog bun named Brenda (Kristen Wiig) with more curves than a mountainside highway.

Hot Dogs Meet Buns in ‘Sausage Party’
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Releasing

When a jar of Honey Mustard (Danny McBride) is returned to the shelf, he’s acts like a soldier with PTSD just back from the battlefield. He tries to warn the other foods that the great beyond is a lie before jumping to his death, and that sets off a shopping cart mishap that sends Frank and Brenda onto a trip through the back aisles of the store to find the truth.

While Frank and Brenda wander the store, his old friends from the hot dog package find themselves on the menu once they reach the kitchen. And in a movie like this, dinner is a truly horrifying experience, more akin to a slasher movie than family time. One small sausage named Barry (Michael Cera) escapes and goes on a quest to find his way back to the store.

Along the way Frank and Brenda are joined by a Lavash and Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton, doing a serviceable Woody Allen), expertly rehashing the Israeli Palestinian conflict in their endless bickering. And they’re pursued by a literal douche (Nick Kroll) who’s a bit of a douche with roid rage after supercharging himself by consuming those around him. Sausage Party is full of sex references, drug references, and more food puns than I could count. There’s always something amusing on screen if not every character is as amusing as the filmmakers seem to think they are. But amidst a sea of comedy superstars, it’s a piece of gum that steals the show late in the film.

The Gang Gets a Revelation in ‘Sausage Party’
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Releasing

This is a film which wants to do more than just lob f-bombs into the kid friendly sandbox of big screen animation. It has something to say. It seems to take a few cues from Ricky Gervais’ noble, but less successful big screen failure “The Invention Of Lying” by questioning the nature of faith and beliefs as Frank learns the truth.

But it should be noted this message never gets in the way of a good joke. It just makes the movie work on multiple levels, just like the best animation has since the days of Rocky and Bullwinkle. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s good for quite a few laughs if you happen to be in an anything goes kind of mood.

By SPIKE WALTERS Contributor HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]