Film Review- "Sausage Party"

There are moments in every filmgoer's life, when he finds himself sitting in the theater, staring up at the big silver screen. His eye's wide open like a deer in headlights, paralyzed with shock at what he's witnessing, but cannot look away. His jaw hangs open, as his hand muffles the only words that can escape his breathe, "What. The. *Bleep*"

...This is my review of Sausage Party.

Sausage Party
Directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon
Starring Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, and Nick Kroll

You know me. You know I love Disney and Pixar, but really I'm a sucker for any good animated film. For the longest time, I had wanted someone to come along and give audiences a send up of the genre. For someone to push the boundaries of the art form, and show that "animated" isn't a synonym for "kiddie". A raunchy, satirical, and adult-oriented animated film...Be careful what you wish for kids. Especially when Seth Rogen is the one granting those wishes.

Sausage Party takes place in the world of an average supermarket, where the edible inhabitants have always believed that when they are purchased, they are being chosen by the gods (humans) to leave the store and enter The Great Beyond, i.e. Their heaven.

For a sausage named Frank (Rogen) and a bun named Brenda (Wiig), entering The Great Beyond means them getting to...consummate their love. When they're chosen together, a series of unfortunate events leads Frank to question their entire existence. He goes on a quest to discover the truth about food, even if it means costing him the love of Brenda and the respect of the entire food community.

Sausage Party's greatest strength is its shock value, and my god do I mean shock. You will constantly be in awe with what you're witnessing. From the opening song to the very end you're on a roller coaster of cringe and crude humor, and at the end of that roller coaster is...you have to see it to believe it my friends...

The film's humor can basically fall into two categories: food puns, and sex jokes. This is probably not everybody's cup of tea. Personally, I was laughing quite a bit throughout. Partially because the jokes were clever and funny, mostly because I was in disbelief at the balls they had to took to make this film.

Hidden behind all this obscenity, is actually a clever story that commentates on religion, belief, and individuality. Who would of thought? Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg have proved before they can be as clever as they can be crude. Unfortunately, you might forget that when you're witnessing a lesbian taco shell voiced by Salma Hayek fight lustful urges to get it on with Kristen Wiig's bun character.

At this point, pretty much everyone in this film has already lent their voice to an animated film, and everyone does a fine job. Ironically, Frank is probably the most three-dimensional character Rogen's ever played in an animated film (That's not a pun on the CGI animation I swear.). Michael Cera does a nice job as Barry, a deformed sausage. Nick Kroll as the film's villain, plays a perfect douche...ok that one was a pun. Most of the voice cast is almost unrecognizable, from Edward Norton doing a Woody Allen impression as a bagel, Paul Rudd as the douchey dork manager of the supermarket, and James Franco as a druggie who manages to speak with the food.

Pay freaking attention during that scene. Don't do bath salts, kids...

Sausage Party is not a film for everyone. I enjoy a film like this once in awhile, but I'm going to need some time before I watch it again...like years. But it does a perfect job of satirizing the animated genre, deliver a thoughtful message, and leave a lasting impression on its audience.

Especially that last one. Christ, I won't be able to eat for weeks...

Film Review- "The Interview"

The Interview
Directed by Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen
Starring James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Randall Park

Unless you've been living under a rock, you already know the story of this film's release. I don't want to spend too much time on the controversy itself, though I feel that film is an art form, art is form of freedom of speech, and the threats against this film was unjust. I mostly want to talk about the film itself though.

At last free of North Korean threats, and having to drive twenty-something miles to the nearest theater showing it, The Interview arrived on Netflix this weekend. After having see this film for myself, I can honestly say this film was not worth all the hullaballoo. If it was a better film, maybe it would have been. Let's begin.

The film focuses on Dave Skylark (Franco), a television talk-show host, who's biggest stories are getting Eminem (playing himself) to come out of the closet, and talking with a goat Matthew McConaughey supposedly had relations with. His producer/best friend Aaron (Rogen), wishes they could do more serious journalism. They get there chance when North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un (Park) reveals he's a big fan of Skylark and grants him an interview. This is when the CIA steps in a recruits the two men to assassinate Kim Jong Un.

The story isn't that bad. It's the usual formula we get out of these Rogen & Goldberg/Apatow & Friends films. Friend A is loving life, Friend B wants a change. Friend A & B have a falling out, then make up in time to save the day. What makes this formula fail here, is that unlike Pineapple Express or This Is The End, the film just isn't that funny.

There were very little times where I actually laughed out loud. Some jokes got a smile or soft chuckle, but most of the time the jokes fall flat. Franco and Rogen are again probably as good as they ever been. Lizzy Caplan as the CIA agent tasked with supervising their mission is delightful. Randall Park gives a pretty good performance as Kim Jong Un.

The characterization of Kim is for the most part, harmless. It's clear this film was never meant to be a piece of propaganda against the North Korean Leader. There are little moments that comment on the actual man and how he leads his country, but for the most part, the film is concerned with saying he's a guy with daddy issues, who loves Katy Perry's music and partying. Because of this, the tone of the shift is slightly unbalanced, teetering between satire and lowbrow comedy.

The hype and controversy around The Interview will definitely overshadow the film itself in the years to come. If this had been a better film, things might have turned out different, and maybe the people who lashed out against it may have had a stronger argument. On the other hand, if they had seen the film before jumping to conclusions, they would have realized that they were really making a fuss over nothing. This is just a ridiculous, lowbrow comedy, that has next to no real laughs, and nothing more.