One of the main stereotypes made in Hollywood is that animated movies are strictly for kids. This isn't because no one has attempted to make an animated movie for adults; it's because they are infamous for not doing well. Heavy Metal, Anomalisa, and Persepolis were are fantastic films, yet not enough for the mainstream crowd to take any interest. So, what sets apart Sausage Party, an R rated animated film created by Seth Rogan, from the rest of the selective genre?
QUICK SYNOPSIS: Frank, Carl, and Barry (voiced by Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill, and Michael Cera respectively) are sausages in a package looking to be bought at a grocery store in order to be carried by the gods (us as food consumers) to "The Great Beyond" (being bought) where all of their wildest dreams will come true. When they're split from their own packages while trying to save Honey Mustard from jumping off the shopping cart after being returned from a customer, Frank and Brenda the hot dog Bun (voiced by Kristen Wiig) must find a way back to their isles to get bought to receive their lives in "The Great Beyond". But, the one question that is killing Frank is "What shocked Honey Mustard to the point of suicide?". Will he ever find out? Will they ever make it to The Great Beyond?
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PROS: The one thing that has to be said up front is that this movie was written to be rated R solely for the purpose of being a raunchy animated comedy. Directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon were in collaboration with Seth Rogan when writing. Their goal was to make an adult Toy Story. The movie was under four years of development and they spent all that time making the best rated R animated comedy they could. The reviews that have been flooding in about the movie have been mostly positive, currently holding an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 66 rating on Metacritic. So, the big question is "Did they succeed?". Is the movie as good as they want it to be? The short answer is, absolutely! But why?
One thing that Sausage Party executed exceptionally well was character development. Every character had some sort of change throughout the story and everyone watching could relate to at least one character. The large ensemble cast (including James Franco, Paul Rudd, Michael Cera, Bill Hader, Salma Hayak, Kristen Wiig, Craig Robinson just to name a few) helped immensely with making the characters well rounded and relatable.
The writing (while being incredibly crass, vile, and twisted) was overall charming, nostalgic, witty, and fun. No moment was left unused. Every little thing that happened in the story made sense and added to the story in some way. It is safe to say that I was never bored throughout the duration of this film.
CONS: Now, let's go back to when I said that the writing was incredibly crass, vile, and twisted. Let me at least say once in this review that this film is R rated for a reason, folks! For two years, this movie held an NC-17 rating (which was the equivalent of an R rating) for its humor and cruel nature. The directors and producers made the statement that they made several cuts to the film before obtaining an R rating, and even then the film is pushing it. Even though this movie looks innocent and is a well rounded film, this movie holds an extreme R rating. This movie was a bit too much for me personally. Specifically, the last twenty-five minutes are incredibly disturbing. Long story short, if you think it's too much for you to handle by the previews, it most likely is.
Very minuscule, but the ending made the film a bit unwatchable. The ending was one of those endings that made the movie a bit unbearable to watch a second time because you know how it ends.
CONCLUSION: Sausage Party was easily one of the best summer blockbusters of this year. This movie was an incredibly built film, but unfortunately is a bit too disturbing to hold it (in my standards) as a borderline classic. I absolutely respect the way that Seth Rogan went about making this film. But even so, I don't think I would ever pay to see it again. It was truly unsettling and graphic. And God forbid that they release an unrated version because even this version of the film was a bit too wild for my taste.
OVERALL RATING: 8/10
