As Bill Brown – a scholar and father of what super-nerds know as “Thing Theory” – puts it, “We begin to confront the thingness of objects when they stop working for us.” Take the example of a hammer. We tend to think about the “thingness” of objects only when they break. Regardless, to probe this stupid cartoon’s meatier issues necessitates asking some unpopular questions: what if Sausage Party is really also about food? What might it reveal about our relationship to everyday things – fruit, veggies, processed meats, evil douches, and more?īefore proposing answers, I want to advance some ideas about things.

Those with praise laud what they consider to be its unexpected profundity, “ nuanced meditation on theology and faith,” “its shockingly sophisticated commentary on organized religion,” “its mature look at atheism,” “ existential and political dimension, crudely but effectively expressed,” and various other “provocations.” Sure, it’s a relief that Sausage Party beats the low expectations set by its ludicrous premise (a pleasant surprise in a summer of clunkers) and maybe this relief accounts for the echo chamber of metaphysical praise.Īlternatively, maybe I’m thinking too hard about a stupid cartoon – very possible, gentle reader.

Skipping over the particular bizarreness brought to the table by sentient groceries, critics alight on observations about the film’s headier overtones. I was surprised to discover that the prevailing answer is: not food. Lavash’s butt?” I had a different question in mind as I walked out of the multiplex, trailing a gaggle of kids and their ashen-faced parents, who had clearly missed the memo. Anyone planning to bring children should also plan to face questions like, “Daddy, why did Mr.

Sausage Party is as raunchy and ridiculous as advertised. The groceries celebrate with a pansexual and impressively creative orgy at the film’s conclusion, before learning an even stranger truth: they’re cartoons. Led by a sausage named Frank (Seth Rogen) and his bug-bunned girlfriend Brenda Bunson (Kristen Wiig), food wins its freedom in a glorious battle against people. But when they discover the reality of their imminent demise by mastication (or worse), they revolt against the humans that they formerly revered as gods. They want nothing more than to be bought and taken to the “great beyond,” slipping the surly bonds of Earthly supermarkets. Here’s a stripped-down summary of Sausage Party, a movie that has made more than $80 million in three weeks: walking, talking, pot-smoking, sex-obsessed groceries believe that paradise awaits them in the homes of shoppers.

A game of sausage party