Movie Review: Sausage Party
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
Ready for a good time? Great! That just might happen for you if you go see Sausage Party. But be warned. This movie is not a love-it or hate-it film; it’s just not. Sausage Party is a have fun or don’t-have fun film. But if you go into it with the right mindset, trust me, my friends. You will have fun.
But heed this warning: if you can’t get past the profanity, you need to walk away. No, don’t walk…run. Run far away. Run or fly as far and as fast as your sensitive feet or wings will carry you, because, if you see this movie, you are about to be highly, extraordinarily, and profoundly offended by its very nature, much less any of the words actually uttered on-screen. Offended by sex? Offended by drinking and illicit substances? Offended by violence (albeit animated in nature)? Offended by swear words? Offended by talking groceries? If you’re outraged by any of these things, then… Please don’t see Sausage Party.
But, hey, are you an adult? Are you into a cast full of mega-stars? Into world politics? Into social progress? Into rebelling against ethnic stereotypes? (You should know now that Salma Hayek voices a lesbian taco named Teresa.) Sausage Party may be just what you’re looking for. Furthermore, Nick Kroll voices a talking douche – a literal feminine hygiene product, embodied by a muscle-bound, Jersey Shore, egotistical psychopath. And that’s worth the ticket price, alone.
So, here’s the scoop. Sausage Party revolves around the grocery community which resides (for now) at Shopwells – yes, I’m saying the main cast of characters includes a sausage (Frank, voiced by Seth Rogen), a bun (Brenda, voiced by Kristen Wiig), a lavash (voiced by David Krumholtz), a bagel (voiced by Edward Norton), fruits and veggies galore, a jar of honey mustard, non-perishables, and the aforementioned douche and taco, among others. These groceries have come to believe that their current transcendental home is just a stepping stone to the “Great Beyond” – a Heaven-like place where the “Gods” (Shopwells’ customers) take them to meet their personal Utopia. Every morning begins before store opening, with a song sung to the Gods, commencing with a rousing chorus by a bucket of ears of corn. In fact, “This is a musical?” was my initial worried impression of the film as the lights dimmed, and the screen lit up. (And to answer: no, it’s not.)
Meet the lovable Frank and Brenda, a sausage and bun (respectively), who have the hots for each other. But so far, they’ve only been able to touch with “just the tip.” After all, they’re still in their cellophane packaging. We’re just getting to know the lovebirds when danger strikers. An in-store grocery cart collision goes haywire and all Hell breaks loose. Barry (Michael Cera), Frank’s best friend and fellow sausage, finds himself fighting for his life amidst the chaos, and is thrust into the outside world. Barry then realizes that the “Great Beyond” isn’t that at all. It’s a crummy, evil place where groceries go to die horrible, violent deaths (cue an incredibly vivid war-torn scene involving slicing and boiling potatoes, and chewing baby carrots – “They’re just children!” – to obliteration).
When Barry, through incredible feats of intelligence and strength (and the help of a twenty-year old piece of gum bizarrely, but plainly, reminiscent of Stephen Hawking, and voiced by Scott Underwood) makes his way back to Frank, he divulges the truth. The world outside Shopwells is dangerous and everything they thought they knew is a lie.
The latter portion of the movie revolves around Frank trying to save the world (well, “their” world, at Shopwells), through vigorous warnings that the Great Beyond is a set-up. Most other groceries are combative and rally against the idea, however, feeling comforted by the normalcy that the “Gods” and the “Great Beyond” exist – assuming Frank has become a whack job. He’s lovable, though – to his friends, and to the audience. Rogen plays a terrific sausage (really)! He’s kind and ambitious, and genuine in his efforts to help the others. And I feel ridiculous writing that. Is it silly? Completely. Can it be a bit too much? Of course. But was it fun? Absolutely. Sausage Party could have gone horribly wrong, but Rogen and his comrades put on a heck of a show.
Mandi Ruffner
