Sausage Party or Sausage Bust

Sausage Party is an animated movie directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon. The cast is star studded and highlighted by Seth Rogen, who also co-wrote the movie. The movie follows a sausage named Frank and his lover Brenda Bun. The two characters live in a utopian, grocery store society where every food and grocery item has its own personality and human-like capabilities. The only thing on their minds is to finally be chosen together for the upcoming Fourth of July festivities. Life and joy fill the air but one day a mustard jar is returned and weeps of a hellish reality that awaits them all. Before ultimately shattering his own mustard jar, Frank leaps out of his bag trying to save him but only ends up forcing the cart to crash and all groceries to fall out of the cart. In a war torn scene, Frank and Brenda escape with a few other consumables. Frank then begins his journey to find out the truth about the outside world. His first encounter is with the alcohol aisle, which is a bonanza. He meets an alcoholic drink that resembles a Native American Shaman and he tells Frank the truth about the outside. Frank then asks many questions while taking puffs of marijuana from a kazoo. A large amount of time passes and Frank remembers about his friends, who have left the alcohol aisle for the Hispanic aisle. The Hispanic aisle resembles an old Western movie, mostly taking place in a saloon. Theresa Taco meets the gang, minus Frank, and warns them of a feminine product that is seeking their demise in this area. This product is a Douche. A figurative and literal douche. Theresa smuggles the group out of the back aisle to meet up with Frank. He then explains his findings to them and asks them to come to the cutlery aisle, just passed the ice mountains. Refusing to accept their new reality, they decline and leave Frank to find out the terrible truth of knives and prongs by himself. His final attempt to save the food items before the Fourth of July is received with mixed emotions and only he can convince the others to fight the “humans” known as gods. Sausage Party is a comedic animation that has been in production for over 10 years and it appeals to a wide range of demographics across the globe.

            The genre of Sausage Party should be clear to anyone familiar with Seth Rogen, it is a comedy. First, begin with the title Sausage Party. The title is a sexual innuendo referencing a male dominated social gathering. Also, most of the characters in the movie are male. Next, the intentions of Frank and Brenda are to one day be placed together. Frank desperately wants to be placed inside of Brenda. Throughout the entire movie there is very obvious sexual tension between all characters. A.O. Scott of the New York Times writes, “There are schisms and antagonisms based on territory and belief – most piquantly represented by the enmity between a bagel and a lavash – and a repressive sexual morality underwritten by the fear of the gods” (Scott 3). Scott is saying that every animation is available for sexual interaction and lust. Absolutely any character that has more than two lines reveals deep sexual desire whether it be homosexual or heterosexual. Then, Brenda second guesses her intentions with Frank when she blames all of their misfortunes on the fact that her and Frank reached out of their respective packaging and “touched tips”. “Touching tips” refers to the characters touching hands in the beginning of the movie. Brenda feels dirty about herself and begins to blame Frank. Finally, there are cute character sprites that provide a light hearted adventure for the audience. This sense of reprieve for the audience allows an easier laugh. Seth Rogen and developers did indeed have 10 years to figure out the ins and outs of each joke said in the movie.

            Sausage Party has reportedly been in production since the year 2006. At first thought many will think it should be contain the perfect plot, perfect jokes, and perfect cast. The crew has had so much time to work on it so why shouldn’t it be. The crew had ten years to finish this movie. So much has happened in that allotted time that many new ideas come and go. The developers had to find a way to appeal to every generation in existence at the time and now. First, the crew looks at conflicts that have outlasted the production of this movie. One such example is the Israel-Palestine conflict. Two main characters consist of an Israeli bagel and a Palestinian Lavash. Each character takes their respective jabs at each other, clearly showing hatred, but again, there is a definitive sexual tension between them. Next, there is a small scene in reference to the Holocaust. While travelling aisle to aisle, Frank sees an army of sauerkraut lead by a Hitler outfitted glass jar. The jar is stomping around on a stage and screaming to a crowd of sauerkraut with one arm raised. Seth Rogen is Jewish and is content with the scene. Scenes like these are just bringing up social problems but they have a humorous twist. Many people out there believe we should talk about these problems more and how these scenes appeal to them. Next, there are many marijuana references. Rogen, a renowned stoner (person who indulges in marijuana through smoking) throws in numerous THC jokes. According to Jason Guerrasio of Business Insider, “…some weed smoking with Jonah Hill helped nail down the movie” (Guerrasio 3). Jonah Hill, a character in the movie, is a regular is Seth Rogen’s movies. Smoking marijuana is becoming more prevalent in American kids and young adults. Many will find joy in seeing cute, animated characters also partaking in the festivities.

            While on the subject of appealing to different people, Sausage Party does a great job of touching on many issues that plague our world. First, homosexuality is alive and well in today’s world and especially in this movie. Theresa Taco is homosexual and the Lavash and Sammy Bagel Jr. are also both gay. Theresa Taco is very open with her sexuality. She openly “makes a move” toward Brenda Bun. In today’s world the idea of homosexuality causes tension between people. Many people believe that it is not right for two men or two women to be in love with each other or even have sex. Orthodox Jews, “Devout” Christians, and radical Muslims all seriously look down on the act of homosexuality. In recent news, gay marriage is legal across the United States and it sparked outrage among many communities. It has not left their mind and it is certain many parts of this movie upset a certain crowd of spectators. Sammy Bagel Jr. and Kareem Abdul Lavash are more discrete with their sexuality. Many would not even be able to tell the two were homosexual. It could be an easy mistake to think that their sexual tension is just displaced toward each other by accident. The secrecy of their sexuality engages a whole different audience. There are many people in the world who are scared to express their sexuality. They are scared of how people will think of them or treat them. Many are scared to tell even their parents. This is the case of Kareem and Sammy. Throughout the entire movie there is not one reference to either of them being gay. A triumphant moment occurs when they do express themselves and it shows the audience it is perfectly fine to embrace who you are. Repercussions or not, there are people out there to support any belief. Along with homosexuality, there are many stereotypes that poke fun at racism. There is a black box of grits that resembles a mid ‘70s pimp, a promiscuous Latina taco, and a Caucasian Twinkie. The grits box is a street tough with a moustache and an urban accent. The Taco is a frequent at the bar and for some reason the Douche seems to think he could take advantage of her. Finally, the Caucasian Twinkie has a very creepy, proper voice and a white pompadour-esque haircut.

            Sausage Party may have had a very long production time but the crew embraced it. They fit the ten years into an 88-minute movie so to speak. Twinkies are not in production anymore, homosexuality is becoming an easier topic to speak about, and everyone now knows the typical douche that makes recurring cameos in their lives. The movie does indeed do a good job of being very funny but keeping a hand on the issues that are in our world today.

-Joseph Iacobacci

Watch the Trailer HERE