MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by: Curtis McParland

CONTRIBUTOR

Warning: This review deals frankly with the sexual and violent content of this film. The review is not suitable for children. Reader discretion is advised.

Life on the store shelf isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. All of the many items hanging out on the shelves are impatiently waiting to be “chosen” by “the gods”… or may I just say the humans. Frank the sausage (Seth Rogen) and Brenda the hot dog bun (Kristen Wiig) have a thing for each other and hope to be “chosen” together to enter what everyone calls “The Great Beyond,” or simply life outside of the grocery store. Shelf life is pretty boring, and these guys are getting impatient to move on to greater things until their friend Honey Mustard (Danny McBride) is returned in exchange for plain old ordinary Mustard. He shares his horrifying experience in “The Great Beyond,” but not everybody believes him.

However, many experience being around “the gods” first-hand, as some get purchased and others fall from shelves and carts into their clutches… and directly into the trash. A feminine product (no need to spell out the name) blames Frank for an accident and swears revenge on him, as they remain at the store. And while tension heats up inside the store, let’s just say things in “The Great Beyond” get even worse, as many more food buddies experience the horrific reality that the evil humans slice, dice, and consume their friends on a regular basis. News spreads fast, and everyone in the store wakes up to the reality that life outside the supermarket is no picnic (pun intended). They must band together and come up with a plan to defend themselves from “the gods,” before they all become someone’s meal. But is it already too late? Not according to Frank’s watch it isn’t.

“Sausage Party” certainly has an amusing concept, as we are literally taken into the secret life of food. However, the film heavily relies on non-stop vulgar and obscene humor, and, after the opening musical number, the film just wasn’t that funny any more. The plot is rather thin, the direction is sub-par, and the animation itself really wasn’t all too impressive. “Sausage Party” doesn’t have any likable characters, lacks character development, and just feels rather messy at times (in more ways than one). Sure, the idea itself is somewhat unique, and the work with the multiple sub-plots was well executed. But other than that, “Sausage Party” is more or less a misfire on multiple levels.

Oh, where to begin. From the opening scene to the closing credits, “Sausage Party” is a non-stop garbage fest filled with graphic sexual content, nudity (if you even really want to call it that), some startling, yet extreme, cartoon violence, and mountains full of crass, vulgar, and obscene language. There are near constant, graphic jokes made about both male and female genitalia, sexual acts, including, but not limited to, oral and anal sex, masturbation, fetishes, homosexuality, and bodily fluids. Many food items talk about the sexual acts they would like to carry out with other food items. One food item nestles up to a female shopper’s breasts, another gets his face stuffed in a woman’s clothed crotch (more nasty dialog ensues as we get a good close-up), and many of the food items display rather curvy features that share what I may call “food nudity.” A lot of these food items display similarities to both male and female genitalia. There are a couple of cheap shots at purity and virginity, one of the main villains is a feminine product who gets ample screen-time, a used condom shares his horrific experiences, and many humans (mainly female) wear very tight, formfitting and revealing clothing. Brenda the bun gets ogled by characters on a number of occasions, and the camera likes to linger on her figure, as well.

There is obvious sexual tension between food characters, Brenda goes off on how she wants to be “filled,” food items “flash” each other, and many more discussions about sexual acts take place within the film’s short 90 minute run-time. Brenda gets groped by a bunch of food items (making Frank extremely jealous), and sex is just about to take place as the scene cuts away. A taco turns out to be a lesbian and wants to have sex with Brenda, and in one graphic scene a character sucks the juice out of the bottom of a juice box as it cries in agony. The same evil feminine product goes after a guy in yet another graphic and somewhat disturbing sequence by chasing him down and partially entering his body in order to take control of him. We see the character’s face through the man’s unzipped crotch as he moves him throughout the store. A masturbation simulation ensues as a sausage gets caught on the crotch of the same guy’s pants. I don’t think I need to say any more about that.

The film decides to end with pornographic content, as Frank and Brenda break the tension and have graphic, sexual intercourse. The camera hardly stays off the two, as we witness despicable sexual acts and movements. Yes, it gets worse. The entire grocery store decides to take part in one huge orgy, as group sex plays out for the remaining few minutes of the film. From oral to anal sex and everything in between, “Sausage Party” covers just about every disgusting sexual act possible. Both gay and group sex take place, BDSM takes a bow, fetishes rage, threesomes and lap dances ensue, and many, many more filthy acts occur in the final moments of this piece of trash film. It is extremely graphic, as food genital areas are seen, and so many more despicable sexual acts are witnessed. I was appalled by what was displayed on screen.

The language is off the charts, as there are nearly 200 f-words (paired with “mother” and used sexually dozens of times), about 45 s-words, and approximately 20 abuses of God’s name (paired with d**n at least four times). Jesus’ name is abused nearly five times (paired once with the f-word) and dozens of other profanities come into play like a**, d**k, d**n, h*ll, p*ss, p**sy (as a put down), pr**k, and b**ch. The word “douche” is said countless times, numbers of words for both male and female genitalia are said, one character says “F U,” and “scr*w,” “s*cks” and the word “frigging” pop up a couple of times. A character says “b**thole,” someone is called a “whore” a few times, and the cringe worthy c-word is said about three times total, as well.

Being an animated feature, most of the violence in “Sausage Party” is rather cartoon-like. That doesn’t mean it is mild. Though pretty much bloodless, the camera does not refrain from showing food in great pain and agony as countless amounts of food get sliced, chopped up, fried, consumed, thrown, boiled, smashed, shredded, stabbed, impaled, and thrown away. One very tasteless and disrespectful scene takes a stab at the opening scene of “Saving Private Ryan.” As groceries go flying out of a cart, a bag of flour explodes and groceries get demolished, debris go flying, and characters get shot down and impaled. A can of spaghetti spills out, as he tries to pull his insides back together, and other characters run around looking for their missing limbs. Liquids spray amidst the mayhem. A glass bottle is killed by getting his bottle cap ripped off. The scene is played out as if a human were getting his neck broken. We get the visual and the cringe worthy sound of the act. Ketchup and tomato sauce serve as the blood in this feature, and we get a look at some photos of more food in agony, as they’re being consumed.

Humans tend to get it even worse, though, as mounds of shoppers get attacked with toothpicks, chased down by rebellious groceries, shot with gumballs, and one woman slams into a glass door and gets her head beaten against the ground. We see her bruised, bloody face. As one guy gets attacked, a soda bottle takes off his cap and enters the man’s mouth. The man’s face grows bigger and bigger until it eventually explodes. Tons of explosions take place in the final act, and gunfire even comes into play when an employee whips out a pistol. As customers get brutally attacked by the food, one guy somehow gets tied up to fireworks and is seen in the distance as it explodes into the sky. His bloody eyeball is later seen. One last violent act takes place when a sausage returns from the outside world with a severed human head, stating that “the gods can be killed.” A flashback is seen as a guy gets burned with hot water, falls, and gets decapitated with an ax. The impact itself is not seen but we see the ax fall from the wall and hear the result. A character tells another to go kill himself.

There is loads more disrespectful and crude humor, including plenty of racial jokes and stereotypes, talking feces, and a roll of toilet paper sharing a horrific experience. Some food items are portrayed as Nazis, and stabs are made at the Jewish culture. There is a huge party thrown in the liquor aisle, where many groceries are drunk and party up a storm. A bottle of tequila is seen drunk every time we see him, and a talking piece of gum in a wheelchair appears to be making fun of Stephen Hawking. There is a fair chunk of drug use, as groceries smoke marijuana and a bong is seen at a man’s house. Characters make numerous drug references, and a drug deal also goes down. One guy injects himself with bath salts and begins to hallucinate. A sausage quips “You’re not tweaking, you’re peaking.” More drug use takes place during the huge orgy at the end of the film.

“I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me.” —Psalm 101:3 (NASB)

With all the filth contained within this film’s short run-time, it is not surprising that there are few positive themes on display. The closest we get is a small nod to teamwork and friendship. And I doubt those themes were tossed in intentionally. “Sausage Party” is literally a 90 minute animated feature that attempts to push the envelope by displaying as much vile content as possible in the least bit amount of time. The content isn’t just graphic. It is pornographic. I am utterly surprised that this film avoided an “NC-17” rating, even after the edits the filmmakers made to secure an “R” rating. It may just be animated food products on screen, but they engage in crude, disgusting acts that would not fly by the MPA if “Sausage Party” were instead a live action film. Shame on the MPA. Shame on the filmmakers. Shame on the production company and its distributors for letting this film even happen.

Even if you’re not a follower of Christ, you should still feel somewhat offended by this film, simply because of the way it portrays life—one big, disgusting, self-indulgent party, without any point whatsoever. The message in “Sausage Party” is that life and the future isn’t all that big of a deal, and you should just enjoy yourself. Sure, you can help others out on the side, but be sure to focus on your own selfish, lustful desires. 1 Corinthians 10:24 says to “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” Frank may worry about the future of all of his fellow food pals, but, deep down inside, he pretty much only cares about fulfilling his sexual desires with Brenda.

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” —2 Peter 2:1

This one particular message in “Sausage Party” is more subtle than it is blatant. An anti-religious theme coats the main storyline by pretty much stating that we as human beings are our own gods. Faith is seen as a complete joke, and the film shares that we shouldn’t focus on nor worry about what will happen in the afterlife. The groceries may worry about their eternal fate, but the filmmakers use this as an way to share their own personal opinion that faith and eternal life are a complete farce. But Hebrews 11:1 shares that “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Although a work of fiction, the characters are apparently placing their faith in the wrong things. They are seeking hope in fallible human beings—not an all loving and all powerful God.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…” —Ephesians 2:8

Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” In other words, to gain knowledge, we need to place our complete faith and trust in God. The only One who is perfect.

As if “Sausage Party” weren’t bad enough, the filmmakers just couldn’t refrain from including an anti-Christian message. The film is preachy, but certainly in a different way. Besides preaching hedonism, it preaches atheism—that we are on our own on this Earth and that no one greater cares or holds us accountable. This film couldn’t be any more false. Someone does care. Someone does love. We need to have faith, hope, and love. We need to find the right things and seek out the truth—the truth of Christ. God speaks to us through our hearts and when anyone watches a film like “Sausage Party,” I believe that every individual will feel at least a little bit of wrong in viewing such distasteful material. That wrong we feel is a conviction, our conscience. A conscience that needs to be cleansed—to be purified. I felt dirty myself after viewing this film. But we serve a God who forgives, and He makes all things work together for His good. He makes all things new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

“Sausage Party” crosses the line on so many levels and is a film that should never have been green-lit, to begin with. The sexual content is beyond appalling, the language is unbearable, the violence is just plain startling and nauseating, and the drug content is the icing on the cake. Please, PLEASE keep away from this sick and distorted film. “Sausage Party” takes mindless entertainment to an entire new level. “Sausage Party” is a clear example of the downward spiral in which this world is heading.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” —Ephesians 2:8-9 “Purify my heart,

Cleanse me from within

And make me holy.

Purify my heart,

Cleanse me from my sin, deep within.” —Promise Keepers

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Extreme

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.