Ted Review

'Family Guy' creator Seth McFarlane has a movie. It's called 'Ted' and it's about a deadbeat car salesman who lives with his girlfriend and his talking teddy bear. The situation is familiar and the comedy is very similar to the aforementioned show as well as 'American Dad' and 'The Cleveland Show'.

The film stars Mark Wahlberg as the sympathetic loser John Bennet and Mila Kunis as his girlfriend Lori. McFarlane uses his remarkable voice to bring to life the titular character Ted. The film starts off strong and sweet with young Johnny growing up as a shy and lonely kid. His inability to make friends forces him to wish for a best friend. The narrator (Patrick Stewart) reminds us that nothing is more powerful than a boy's wish so Ted comes to life, scaring the shit out of John's parents.

Much like Macaulay Culkin the bear enjoys a brief but intense period of fame. But when the years finally catch up with him he's a drunk, drug-addicted, swearing teddy bear with an unhealthy adoration for the movie 'Flash Gordon'. Johnny and Ted waste their lives watching television and cracking rude jokes. Lori, the only grown-up in the entire movie, feels John is wasting his potential. In true Hollywood fashion she makes him decide; live a forfilling life with her or an unfilling one with Ted.

This is a well-explored story in many romantic comedies over the last few years. Logically, it's not the most interesting part of this film. The character Ted is the main attraction and he doesn't dissapoint. McFarlane makes him crude but equally endearing. His relationship with John feels genuine, quite an accomplishment for a CGI teddy bear.

The humor is truly that of McFarlane. If you like 'Family Guy', warts and all, chances are you like 'Ted'. It does suffer from the fact that it's a live-action feature. Some jokes would work a lot better in an animated medium like 'Family Guy' but don't really hit the right tone for live-action. There's only a few of these misses  and the amount of succesful gags almost make you forget about them. 

There's also an entertaining sub-plot about an obsessive fan (Giovanni Ribisi) and his overweight son. Both of them are screwed up in a fun way and try to kidnap their biggest idol. This part of the movie doesn't get as much attention as the troubled relationship between Lori, Johnny and Ted making it feel like padding. It might have worked better if it had been integrated more organically into the story. 

What makes 'Ted' memorable is its good natured tone. There's lots of cracks at ethnicities, sex, diseases, the mentally handicapped, 9/11, the physically handicapped, prostitution and religion but at its heart the film is quite sweet. With its music (obviously inspired by John Williams) and its romantic/bromantic sensibilities the film is not only funny but also heartfelt.