Sausage Party (2016)

Directed by Greg Tiernen and Conrad Vernon

Written by Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill 

Starring Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill and Michael Cera

      When I think of how the story of this movie was created- I picture a group of men lead by Seth Rogen sitting in a room high as a kite, brainstorming movie ideas. In this case, I think that is exactly what happen- because only the minds of extremely high men could craft such a weird movie. I mean, its literally talking food. The weirdest part of this whole movie was that I actually kind of liked it. It wasn't horrible. It was fun to imagine that if food could talk, this is how they would act. The humor was often lost behind the vulgarity of the script- but overall it was a tastefully (no pun intended) funny movie. 

     Sausage Party begins with a grocery store full of hopeful food, singing about the "great beyond" and the excitement that lies behind those sliding doors. All the food wishes to get chosen, especially the hotdog, Frank (voiced by Seth Rogen) along with the other hot dogs in his package, Barry and Carl (Michael Cera and Jonah Hill). Frank strongly wishes to get picked off of his Fourth of July display so he can live out his life's destiny- insert himself into the beautiful hot dog bun, Brenda (Kristen Wiig). When they all finally get chosen, Frank and Brenda escape their packaging and fall out of the cart, losing their chance to venture outside to the great unknown. Following the wise influence of the spiritual fire water (voiced by Bill Hader), Frank and Brenda are off on a search to figure out what really goes on outside the grocery store- while also being hunted by the vengeful douche (Nick Kroll). They are joined on their journey by some pretty unforgettable characters like the sexy, Teresa Taco (Salma Hayek) and Sammy the bagel (Edward Norton).
     This animated film definitely had its moments. Seeing the horrific reactions of the food that ended up in some woman's kitchen, ready to be cooked- was pretty hilarious. This film tries to get most of its laughter from its excessive amount of sex jokes mixed with an over the top use of profanity. While these things sometimes gained a chuckle from me, they were mostly just too much. The end scene of the movie is where this movie gets it's R rating, for sure.
     Overall, this is a pretty stupid movie that is strangely funny simply because of the idea of our food having these inane beliefs of this great beyond. The actors that bring the voices to these characters contribute to the humor greatly. Bill Hader provides multiple voices in the film and is great per usual, Michael Cera voices a lovable deformed hot dog that you just wanna hug- and his quiet voice is perfect for this character. A well rounded funny cast to bring life and voices to our everyday food and supplies.

I give Sausage Party a...

5/10

21 Jump Street (2012)

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Written by Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill 

Starring Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube and Brie Larson

     A comedy, spin-off from the popular 80's television show starring Johnny Depp, "21 Jump Street." This old crime show didn't really have a high demand for a spin-off, but this comedy about an unlikely duo working on the same team undercover as high school students, is quite comical. I didn't have high expectations going into this film considering i'm not the biggest Jonah Hill fan, and Channing Tatum isn't normally a comedy star- however this film proved me wrong. 

     Schmidt (Jonah Hill) was the pudgy nerd in high school, with braces and acne, who couldn't work up the nerve to ask a girl to prom. Jenko (Channing Tatum) was the long-haired athlete who shoved kids like Schmidt in lockers in high school. They were polar opposites in high school, and 8 years later when they're both in the police academy, they're still that way. The two quickly find out they need each other when Schmidt can't pass the physical exam, and Jenko can't pass the written exam. Once the two graduate and prepare for an exciting career on the force, they quickly discover it is not what they were hoping when they're stuck patrolling a park on bicycles. After their brief lapse of shame, they're exiled to an undercover unit that is investigating a new drug that has infiltrated a local high school. Led by the head honcho, veteran cop (Ice Cube), the two are forced to reprise their roles as high school students in order to find the supplier of this drug. 

     While Jenko is much more bitty about returning to high school than Schmidt- that quickly reverses when they both realize how what is "cool" in high school is way different from 8 years prior. Schmidt sinks right into the cool kid crowd led by the superior, Eric Molson (Dave Franco)- and even ventures so deeply into the facade of being a high school student that he asks the sweet Molly (Brie Larson) to the prom. While on the other hand, Jenko ironically begins to hangout with the nerd crowd. 

     The funny thing about this movie is how much Tatum and Hill don't look like high school students at all- and the writers aren't shy about pointing that out in the script. This film could have been utterly cliche with the unlikely duo being paired together and becoming best friends or "brothers" in this case - but 21 Jump Street was not at all. It started with a lot of momentum and never really died down. Hill has an impressive track record with two oscar nominations to his name, so now blockbuster comedies like this are a piece of cake for him as this movie clearly exemplifies. Tatum is funny as the stupid hot guy, once again proving we can't all be pretty and smart. 

I give 21 Jump Street a...

7/10