Review: Ted (2012)

Ted
Directed by: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Seth MacFarlane.
Genre: Comedy
Released: August 1 2012
by Universal Pictures
Running time: 106 mins (1 hr, 46 mins)
Cert: 15 (BBFC) R (MPAA)
Rating: ★★★★

IMDb | View Trailer

John makes a Christmas miracle happen by bringing his one and only friend to life, his teddy bear. The two grow up together and John must then choose to stay with his girlfriend or keep his friendship with his crude and extremely inappropriate teddy bear, Ted.

I've been wanting to see this film for quite some time because I love Seth MacFarlane's shows. Although I don't always agree with his views, I find his sense of humour hilarious and Ted was a film that I just had to watch. However, I do have to say that this is a film that you shouldn't watch with someone who is easily offended or is your mother. I did the latter.

There isn't much to the film's plot, but that's not too important because the humour and jokes that centre stage. Ted tells the story of 35-year-old John Bennet's troublesome friendship with his teddy bear, which is starting to interfere with his relationship with his girlfriend, Lori. That's pretty much it. The humour of Ted is not PC at all but that's what made it so funny for me. I love that the humour is both physical and focused on jokes at the same time. I also liked the use of cutaway gag scenes that are frequently used in Family Guy.

The cast is definitely the strongest element of Ted; the comic timing is impeccable and I had quite a bit of fun figuring out where on TV I had seen cast members from. Some were from Family Guy (for example, Alex Borstein as John's mother, Patrick Warburton as one of John's co-workers and Mike Henry as a southern news anchor) and I even liked Ryan Reynolds' cameo appearance. I also just loved the Patrick Stewart was cast as the Narrator. Dude has an awesome voice!

Ted, the foul-mouthed, substance abusing cuddly toy voiced by Seth MacFarlane, is definitely the core of the film. He has all of the best lines and jokes and even dominates every comedic scene. Seth MacFarlane's performance really showcases what he does best: voicing his own creation. I don't think anyone else could have done better.

Mark Wahlberg's and Mila Kunis' characters, John and Lori, provide the emotion of the film and the actors do it incredibly well. Wahlberg and Kunis interacted perfectly on screen and all the way through the film, I was routing for John and Lori's relationship to work out.

The music of Ted is very similar to that of Family Guy, which disappointed me just a little bit. I was hoping for the film to have absolutely no connection to Family Guy, American Dad! or The Cleveland Show and the music kind of shot down that hope. However, I did like the music. the jazzy score had a bit of a reminiscing feel to it.

I have to say that Ted is definitely the funniest film that I have seen in a long time and I'm not really a comedy person. My lungs ached from laughing at all the jokes thrown at me, even though the seats me and my mam were in sucked (right at the very front!). I would definitely recommend this film and I think that Family Guy fans would love Ted.