Review: Sausage Party – “Far more inventive and intelligent than you may have assumed”

Back in the early 60’s, Alfred Hitchcock had the balls to show a toilet for the first time on film. He even flushed it. Back then censors did all they could to ensure that the conservative ideology of the time was held toiletlessly intact. Instead, now we live in a new age of self-inflicting cinematic censorship where every major studio is sterilising its film production process in order to appeal to that much-adored family audience. Even films which lend themselves naturally to mature classifications undergo a neutering procedure to ensure that no one is offended. If we keep it up at this rate, soon the beloved toilet will be flushed away from our cinema screens along with all the swearing, sex and violence. So thank the Devil for Sausage Party – a new R-rated animation film by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg that actively and unapologetically seeks to offend you, me and the other guy.  This is the most outrageous comedy since Team America: World Police, and much like Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s absurdist puppet satire, don’t let the childish veneer fool you. This is animation, but politically incorrect adult comedy filled with racial stereotypes, political and religious satire, shocking violence and foul-mouthed fruit and veg. Finally, a film that appreciates the art and comedy of eloquent, acerbic swearing.

Frank (Seth Rogen) is a sausage amongst others in his packing. His sole purpose in life is to be purchased by a customer and get taken into what the anthropomorphised produce community believes to the the “Great Beyond.” But as one returned jar of honey mustard learns, serene utopia does not wait beyond those pearly automatic shop doors. Ranting and raving of conspiracy, Frank goes on an existential journey to find the truth along with his bun girlfriend, Brenda Bunson (Kristen Wiig), Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton) whose Jewish bagel community has occupied the “West Shelf”, and Kareem Abdul Lavash (David Krumholtz), a middle-eastern lavash expecting 77 virgin olive oils come the Great Beyond.

As you may already have suspected, the satire is heavy-handed and discernible to the most uninitiated. Everything from the rise of Nazism, the genocide of Native Americans, Mexican immigration, and the Israel-Palestine conflict is used as sources of satirical comedy. The moralists amongst us will debate the questionable taste involved here, but who has room for such a thing if you want to make a genuinely subversive comedy film. As Picasso says, “taste is the enemy of creativeness.” And this is certainly creative; while the trailer showcased little more than cursing sentient food as a gag that could go out-of-date pretty quickly, the end result is far more inventive and intelligent than you may have assumed. It’s even thoughtful. Yes, more than just hilarious buffoonery, food puns and cultural references, the film attempts to say something about the nature of faith, reason and peace. But just go for the madness; this is a vibrant explosion of riotous gross-out stoner comedy, pinching satire and crass sex and violence. In other words, it’s funny.

Sausage Party opens in the UK on 2nd September 2016.