Sausage Party
Directed by Greg Tiernan & Conrad Vernon
Written by Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Starring Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek, Nick Kroll
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Rated R | 89 Minutes
Release Date: August 12, 2016

Sausage Party is advertised as a raunchy rated-R animated comedy. If that is what draws you to the theater, you will not be disappointed. Sausage Party contains some of crudest and most vulgar humor since… well, ever. Deadpool, which came out earlier this year, prided itself on being a rated-R superhero movie, and while there was sex, graphic violence, and language that would get you kicked out of church, it pales in comparison to the literal non-stop 90-minutes of lunacy that is Sausage Party.

Spoilers and more below.

Directed by Greg Tiernan (whose IMDb credits include Sausage Party and over 30 Thomas the Tank Engine movies) and Shrek 2‘s Conrad Vernon, and written by the pot-loving crew who brought you This Is The End and The Night Before, Sausage Party is about the food we buy in the supermarket and what they do, say, and think when we aren’t around. They all strive to be chosen by the Gods (humans) to go to the Great Beyond (the outside world). When the store opens we get a fantastic fast-paced song, “The Great Beyond” by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, that shows the wide variety of food products available, many bearing the accents, inflections, and stereotypes associated with them… the Nazi-esque German sauerkraut hates the Juice… and many ethnic foods harbor resentment against the crackers for taking over their space and moving them out of their aisles. There’s also the obvious issue of Halal and Kosher foods being kept in the same aisle, but not able to share the space.

The plot, yes there is one, is put in place when a sausage (hot dog) named Frank (Seth Rogen) and his bun girlfriend Brenda (Kristen Wiig) are chosen for Red, White, and Blue Day. They get separated from their cart after a raving mad Honey Mustard (Danny McBride), who was returned to the store, commits suicide after spouting the truth about the Gods… they are monsters who ravenously devour the food in the not-so-Great Beyond.

Also left behind to survive on the supermarket floor are the Woody Allen-esque Sammy Bagel Junior (Edward Norton), forced to coexist with angry Lavash (David Krumholtz), who is missing his 70+ bottles of extra virgin olive oil in the outside world. They’re on the run from an angry Douche (Nick Kroll) who seeks revenge on Frank and his new tribe of renegade foods. Meanwhile, in the Great Beyond, we see the truth as a woman commits a food genocide, including the eating of little children (baby carrots), and other atrocities like skinning a potato alive and ripping a head of lettuce in half. Barely escaping is Barry (Michael Cera), who somehow ends up with a drug user (James Franco), who actually can see and hear the food talking after taking bath salts.

To describe any more of the plot is counter productive. Most of you reading this have already seen the trailers, and are stoked to see this crazy movie. There is, of course (slaps forehead) a budding backlash against the film for its racial and ethnic stereotypes, as well as its final act… and let’s just keep that a surprise for everyone, because HOLY SHIT it’s jaw dropping.

The vulgarity and cursing I felt were actually way overdone. I can’t remember a single line of dialogue without an f-bomb, or in many cases way worse. George Carlin couldn’t list all the obscenities in this film. And it does feel like it’s just too much. After about 15 minutes I sat there thinking, “Okay, it’s not funny anymore.” But buried under the filth is actually a deeply philosophical movie. A movie that asks real questions about blind faith, religion, and of questioning what you believe. For all the obvious stereotypes the film picks on, it also centers of the theme of unity. The supermarket is as good a place as any in society to show a wide world of differences, and yet we, the “Gods,” go there and mix and match our items making a diverse shopping cart. I never thought Sausage Party would be as thought provoking as it was… and the second I thought that, the final 20 minutes began.

You get exactly what you pay for here. Raunchiness, vulgarity, sex, violence, disturbing imagery, hilarious comedy, some great one liners, and a guarantee that you will remember this movie long after the credits are done rolling. This feels like a movie that will be watched in dorm rooms and at parties for a very long time. Is it an overall good movie? Not really. Will you care about that when it’s over? Absolutely not. This is a total experience, and I for one enjoyed the experience. Sausage Party is in theaters everywhere right now.

* Please note: I took my 12-year-old son to see Deadpool and figured, “He saw Deadpool, he can see Sausage Party!” Well, Sausage Party is much, much worse, so please take a moment to consider before bringing your pre-teen children to see it.

Video

SAUSAGE PARTY – Official Restricted Trailer

Sausage Party, the first R-rated CG animated movie, is about one sausage leading a group of supermarket products on a quest to discover the truth about their existence and what really happens when they become chosen to leave the grocery store. The film features the vocal talents of a who’s who of today’s comedy stars – Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, and Salma Hayek.