So, a (very) adult animated film cleverly disguised as a family-friendly kid movie to any idiot adult who does not think to do the slightest amount of research into what their child sees? Yes, that is essentially the premise, or at least the huckster call, to get people inside the tent. One would think the R-rating would be a tipoff to these parents, but an unbelievable amount have unsuspectingly accompanied their kids into this raunch-fest, and were probably more traumatized than the kids who probably didn't get even half the jokes. So, parents, fair warning: THIS IS NOT A MOVIE FOR CHILDREN IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
So, the movie's premise is actually very simple. It tells the story of our food at the supermarket a la Toy Story. They are cute hot dogs, buns and everything else in between. Their fondest wish is to go to the Great Beyond, that is, for one of us to buy them for our food. What they don't know is the horrible fate that awaits them as we skin, gut, boil, bake and eat them. Only when one gets returned is the horrible truth revealed, but nobody believes him except for one hot dog (Seth Rogen), who eventually whips the food into a frenzy and they stage a revolution against their future slayers (us)...
...and have a big orgy to celebrate.
Yes, you read that correctly. The ending is a food orgy where literally every perversion and perverse stereotype come out. Now don't misunderstand. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The movie is quite funny in parts. There are some very laugh-out-loud jokes that gave me some genuine mirth. But this movie wallows way past the depths of Blazing Saddles. Many have said that Mel Brooks movie would never have been able to be made in today's politically-correct, let's-not-violate-others'-safe-spaces atmosphere. But Rogen and company, rather than be dissuaded, seem to have taken that on as a challenge to see just how offensive they can possibly be. The movie is filled with every double-entendre (and not so double) regarding sex: oral, anal, lesbian, gay, interracial, inter-religion, straight; any sex you can possibly think of. Everything, and I do mean everything, gets at least a shout-out. But add into the mix that each food type is matched with the crudest racial and religious stereotype you can imagine. A bagel is a nebbish Jew, a loaf of lavash is an Arab (who ends up in a gay relationship with the bagel while waxing poetic about the 77 bottles of extra Virginia olive oil that wait for him), the sauerkraut is a Nazi dedicated to exterminating the aisle of "juice" (har, har-get it?), there is a Native American bottle of firewater, an Irish potato who sings Danny Boy, a female Mexican lesbian taco, the list goes on and on.
The big question is-Is the film racist? Well, in a word, yes. Stereotypes by their very nature are racist, sexist, etc. They appeal to the basest of our prejudices about each other. Does ithey make a movie horrible or evil? Not necessarily. Comedy can be cutting and cruel and sometimes a thicket of hurt feelings. I'm not taking up the cause of bland, non-controversial humor. But at the same time, like a lot of comedy in this generation, the bar is set so low that one has to crude as possible to make a dent anymore. It is crudeness for its own sake, like Blazing Saddles. But unlike Blazing Saddles, there is not wit, no cleverness. Just the writers waving their hands in your face and yelling, "Look at us! We're being funny!" And while I have come to expect that from Rogen & co., this just took it to that next level. Rogen has written and starred in some sublime comedies (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Zack and Miri Make A Porno, Knocked Up, The Interview, This Is The End) and some duds. And while this is not a dud, it isn't great, either. I guess I would use this litmus test: Would you do the same kind of movie and jokes with live actors? If you wouldn't, you probably shouldn't go there. That is the line of satire versus truly offensive.
Now, I know some of you are looking at me and saying, "Lighten up. It's only a cartoon and not supposed to be taken seriously." And don't get me wrong, there are some very funny things in this movie (my personal favorite was the douche that sounds exactly like the brain-dead idiots from The Jersy Shore and the take-off on Saving Private Ryan). My issue is, however, what are the writers trying to get at here? At least in Blazing Saddles, it is a crude indictment on racism. Sausage Party, on the other hand, celebrates our racist prejudices by bringing them all to the fore in ridiculous extremes with no real satire at all-just racist, sexist humor for its own sake. I don't usually like to judge art this way, but there are not too many redeeming features in this movie at all. Is it funny? Yes. But we're all going to Hell for laughing at it.
And one more time if anyone missed it: THIS IS NOT A MOVIE FOR CHILDREN IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM!!!
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