Ted

This is Family Guy guru Seth MacFarlane’s feature length directorial debut and much like that TV show it’s odd, offensive and childish. Crucially, much like MacFarlane’s calling card, it’s also very funny. Beginning in 1985 we come upon John Bennett, a lonely young boy who wishes his large teddy bear will come to life and be his friend. Bennett’s wish comes true and “Ted” becomes a celebrity (of sorts) before hitting a downward spiral. We then move onto the modern day setting of the film where Ted (voiced by MacFarlane himself) and Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) are living together, trying to avoid work where ever possible and only really concerned about where the next beer or bong is coming from. However, John’s girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis), thinks it could be time for the two “boys” to go their separate ways. So to the obvious first question, yes, there’s plenty of offensive humour here, though not quite as much as you’d expect. Also, though this isn’t really a gross out comedy it’s still been marketed at that young-ish type of crowd. It’s ironic then that most of the pop culture reference jokes (mainly for people in their 30’s) will go over their heads. In effect though this is pretty clever from MacFarlane as it means that, whilst not everyone will get all the gags, there is still humour for all thrown in. For every every smart gag there’s a poo or fart joke just round the corner. The comedy helps to gloss over a very thin script, as it’s basically a quasi-bromance flushed out with the girl coming between two best friends standard. On the acting front Wahlberg gives his usual no more than average performance and I’m not sure why Kunis accepted such a window dressing role. Also the character of Ted himself (which is achieved through some impressive special effects, including a great mash up with the Johnny Carson show) changes too much from scene to scene. For example, he shows himself to be a superb fighter in an hilarious dust up with John but later is as meek as kitten when the plot takes a darker twist. Much better on the acting front are the smaller roles of Giovanni Ribisi (as a Ted stalker) and Joel McHale (as Lori’s slimey boss), plus there are a few amusing cameos to spot. But it’s MacFarlane himself who gives the best comic performance of all. Already a gifted voice actor he’s in his element here and when he gets Ted doing impressions of other people it brings the house down. Recently MacFarlane has hinted that he would be open to a sequel, but I’d say that this is a one-stop shop idea only.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Certainly not to everyone’s tastes, but very funny if you like this kind of thing. Rating: 7/10.