Fun In Parts...

Rating: 6/10 (15 August 2016)

Seth Rogen is a man with funny ideas & his latest animation-food-based-comedy 'Sausage Party' is another mad attempt by him & Co. And to give this food-talking film its due, its fun in parts & has sequences that genuinely make you laugh. But, the writing is erratic & hence the impact isn't entirely enjoyable.
'Sausage Party' follows a hot dog sausage (voiced by Seth Rogen) who tries to discover the truth about his existence, and goes on a journey with his friends to escape their fate.
'Sausage Party' is vulgar, offensive & also funny, no doubt. But the narrative ranges between fun to ordinary. I enjoyed the camaraderie of its central characters & also their love for foul language. The first-hour starts well, but dips considerably in the middle, especially when the food-goons make it out of the store. The laughs shorten & the sequences aren't amusing enough. However, 'Sausage Party' comes to full-power in its final-act, which is fun as well as funny. A post climax-sequence involving the food-goons going crazy in orgy-mode, is Laugh-Out-Loud Funny. But, that's the deal, 'Sausage Party' is erratic, and that's its only minus.
Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Kyle Hunter & Ariel Shaffir's Screenplay is innovative & funny, but could've done better, giving its potential overall. I wanted to laugh more! Greg Tiernan & Conrad Vernn's Direction is quite good, as the animation is spiced up. Kevin Pavlovic's Editing is crisp, as the madness is wrapped up in 88-minutes.
Coming to the Vocal-Performances. Seth Rogen as Frank, the heroic Sausage, is tops, as always. Kristen Wiig as Brenda, a hot-dog bun & Frank's love-interest, is excellent. Bill Hader as Firewater, an old Native American bottle of liquor, Tequila, and El Guaco, a guacamole gangster, is a riot. Edward Norton as Sammy Bagel Jr., a bagel & Salma Hayek as Teresa del Taco, a lesbian taco shell who develops a lustful friendship with Brenda, steal the show. Michael Cera as Barry, a deformed sausage who is one of Frank's friends, is cute. Danny McBride as Honey Mustard, a grocery who was returned to Shopwell's and tries to warn Frank of their fate, is loud. James Franco as the Druggie, a junkie drug addict who is the first known human to see the foods as sentient beings, brings the house down. Jonah Hill as Carl, a sausage who's packed with Frank and Barry, is effective enough. Paul Rudd as Darren, the manager of Shopwell's, who the food-toons are frightened by, is first-rate. Others lend superb support.
On the whole, 'Sausage Party' has flaws, but it isn't without its moments.