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‘Sausage Party’ as Funny as it is Thought-Provoking

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Sausage_PartyFor an animated movie about swearing hot dogs, this thing has a surprising amount of intelligence.

 

“Sausage Party” is a (very) R-rated animated film about food who believe humans are gods sent to save them, but begin to realize what actually happens to them once they are taken out of the supermarket. It stars an ensemble voice cast, including Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Nick Kroll, Edward Norton and Salma Hayek, among a half dozen others. Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon, best known for their work on other raunchy comedies like “Thomas the Tank Engine” and “Shrek 2,” respectively, direct.

 

I was excited for this, because I love Seth Rogen but also the premise of this film is brilliant and the red band trailer may be the funniest trailer of all-time, no hyperbole. And while “Sausage Party” is never laugh-out-loud hilarious, it is a very funny, consistently entertaining and surprisingly thought-provoking piece of adult cinema.

 

One of the great things about the film is it pokes fun of every race, religion and creed, so that way no one can call foul. The entire premise of the film is that the food’s installed beliefs in gods and a “great beyond” is a sham and all who believe in it without proof are fools, however it will then flip the script and insult those who question it just because that is the easier thing to do. There’s plenty of jokes about Middle Easterns not getting along and how foolish those feuds are, as well as more racist jokes than PC people will care to count. There are also some brilliant food puns and references, like a Hitler-esque character wanting to destroy the juice (get it?).

 

Even when the film isn’t making you laugh you are still entertained, as the all-star cast keeps things going at a light, breezy pace, even if at times things do begin to feel a bit repetitive and aimless.

 

And that’s one thing that does hold “Sausage Party” back from being great, is that after a while a hot dog saying the c-word or a bun making jokes about her buns gets old, and as much as I love food puns (or any kind of pun), Nick Kroll’s talking douche makes so many they begin to become forced (which is the point, but awareness doesn’t excuse it). Speaking of Kroll, his Jersey Shore bro voice gets annoying after a while, and his revenge plot is inserted into the plot purely to get it to a theatrical runtime.

 

I really had a good time with “Sausage Party.” I never had a riotous laugh out loud moment, but I had a lot of well-earned chuckles, and the film does make you think about how our own world works. Much like “Popstar” (which I please implore you to see) the film is very stupid and irrelevant yet very intelligent and self-aware all at the same time, and it is a great way to end the summer.

 

Critics Rating: 7/10

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Sony

’22 Jump Street’ is a Sequel that Soars

22_Jump_Street_Poster               You know the old saying: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This usually is the model for comedy sequels, and more often than not it results in a familiar, lackluster film (see: “The Hangover Part II”). And here comes “22 Jump Street”, a sequel that once again uses the exact same formula as the first film; the only difference is it knows it.

Once again starring the perfectly paired Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, this time around the duo has a new mission: they must infiltrate a college in order to find the supplier of an extreme new drug that is posing a threat to teenagers (yeah, sound familiar?). Phil Lord and Christopher Miller once again direct.

Self-relevant humor, when done right, can be the funniest version of comedy (just look at “This Is the End”, “Seven Psychopaths” and even the first “Jump Street”). Much like how “21 Jump Street” knew it was an unnecessary spin-off of an old TV show, “22 Jump Street” knows that it is an unnecessary sequel, and pokes fun of that fact. It notes that Hill and Tatum’s second undercover mission now has twice the budget, and that they should investigate everything as they did the last time; the characters do everything short of turning and winking towards the camera.

The chemistry between Hill and Tatum is so good, it’s almost unfair. There may not be a pair of actors that work better together in Hollywood than these two, and there has certainly never been a better buddy cop couple. Tatum looks like he’s having the time of his life, and there is one scene where he parades around that had my sides hurting.

Directors Miller and Lord once again show that they are perfect for this project, as they insert sound effects and animation into the most random of scenes, and it only adds to the comedy, as if giving the audience a cue of when is the perfect time to laugh.

Because this is a sequel, the film takes advantage of every stereotype that accompanies sequels: from larger, over-the-top action scenes (exploding goalposts), to more colorful sets (the climax takes place in spring break Mexico), all the way to unneeded (but not unwelcomed) returning characters.

Now for all the funny self-deprecating sequel jokes, the film does make a bit too many (they literally say “just like last time” until the film’s final scene), and at times it does feel like they were beating a dead horse with the same one-line. There are also some plot points that are never resolved, but they aren’t glaring enough to ruin the film.

“22 Jump Street” is what every sequel should do, but very few attain: it makes improvements upon the first film while at the same time doesn’t ruin the legacy of the original. “22 Jump Street” is just as funny as its predecessor, and I would very quickly shut up and give Lord and Miller my money if and when “23 Jump Street” comes around…even if this film jokes that a third film may not be the best idea (culinary school, anyone?)

Critics Rating: 8/10

‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Immense Irrelevant Fun

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WallStreet2013poster

Imagine if Patrick Bateman and Gordon Gekko had a love child, and then that child was raised by Charlie Sheen. You would end up with Jordan Belfort, the main character from Martin Scorsese’s new film “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Based on the true story, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Belfort, a young Wall Street stockbroker who gets caught up in illegal trading and federal corruption.

Leonardo DiCaprio has had a fantastic career, and the man is not even 40 years old. The one thing he does not have is an Oscar. When most people hear that they are shocked because he is such a big name, but it is true. We live in a world where Nicolas Cage and Eminem have Oscar trophies, and Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t. I’ll let that sink in for a second…

If DiCaprio doesn’t win the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Belfort, the little faith I have left in the Academy will be lost. He gives everything he has to the role, leaving nothing on the table or the viewer’s imagination. Whether he is giving an inspirational speech to the members of his firm or on a bad drug trip, he is a blast to watch. Belfort is an awful human being and does some despicable things, but we can’t help but like the guy. His charisma and charm are simply too much, and much like Belfort can sell anything to anyone, DiCaprio sells us the character.

Every other actor in the movie is phenomenal as well, the two standouts being Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey. Hill continues to venture outside the realm of comedy, first with “Moneyball” and now in “Wolf”. He has great chemistry as DiCaprio’s right hand man and much like DiCaprio he dedicates himself to the character (to the point of eating a live goldfish).

McConaughey, who had himself a remarkable 2013 that included a Golden Globe and probable Oscar nomination for “Dallas Buyers Club”, plays Belfort’s mentor. He has a monologue early in the film that was as funny as it was brilliant. Credit to the writer Terrence Winter for putting the words on paper but it is McConaughey that just made those words come alive. I really wish he had been in the movie more because he was honestly my favorite character.

The movie clocks in at 3 hours long, but unlike things such as The Hobbit trilogy, it earns and warrants that run time. There wasn’t a second I was not entertained for one reason or another, and at no point did I look at my phone to check the time. There may have been a few scenes that ran a little long, but I never got mad at the film or felt like it was deliberately wasting my time.

Now this film is not for everyone. Not only does it have that running time of 3 hours, but it almost earned an NC-17 rating. There is an incredible amount of sex, drugs and language; in fact the movie officially holds the record for most f-words in a non-documentary with 414 uses. Many of these obscene occurrences are crucial to the plot and are an accurate portrayal of Belfort’s life, and it is debauchery at its highest form, however the easily offended may want to avoid from the film.

It is worth mentioning that the film’s first third was perfect. I love movies about beginnings and origins, so seeing Belfort build his corrupt company from scratch was immensely entertaining. The rest of the film is very good, too, albeit for completely different reasons.

There really is nothing “The Wolf of Wall Street” gets wrong aside from its pushy running time and slight tone issues. DiCaprio gives one of the best performances of his shining career, and all the supporting cast add in some big laughs and entertaining pieces of dialogue. Scorsese does a good job capturing all the irrelevancy on camera and it is one of my favorite films by him. I really don’t want to ruin anything more about what this movie is, so much like a stockbroker you are just going to have to take me by my word on this.

Critics Rating: 9/10