Ted
Directed by: Seth MacFarlane
Written by: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale

For all the success he’s gained in television with Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show, it’s not surprising that Seth MacFarlane decided to try his hand at feature filmmaking. The resulting movie we’re given is Ted and it (also unsurprisingly) doesn’t stray from the brand of humor found in his shows. By this point, most people are familiar enough with MacFarlane’s shtick to basically know what they’re getting with Ted. The real unknown quantity here was what MacFarlane could do within the format of a movie. So, has he made something that reaches beyond the average R-rated comedy or does Ted feel like an extended episode of MacFarlane’s TV shows without the censors?

In terms of plot, MacFarlane certainly isn’t laying any new groundwork. The story starts off when a lonely boy named John who, through a Christmas wish, turns his toy teddy bear into a living playmate. Over the years, they remain best friends and, as adults, they enjoy an extended adolescence, much to the dismay of John’s (Mark Wahlberg) long-term girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis). And that’s really the main conflict of the film. Will John decide to stay friends with Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) and lead a man-child life of leisure or will he choose to step up into adulthood with Lori? It’s not exactly the most compelling of conflicts and the movie feels like it comes from a frat boy mentality at times. With that said, I’m fine with letting the actual story take a backseat in comedies sometimes, provided that it brings the funny.

I’ll admit that I laughed a fair amount during Ted, although that’s most likely due to its rapid-fire approach with its jokes. If something falls flat, you won’t have to wait long for the next gag or one-liner. But, as a result, some moments come across as tacked on or forced, as if MacFarlane can’t help but fit in another gag when he should just move forward. There’s also a reliance on pop culture references for many jokes, as is the case with many modern day comedies, and while that can sometimes grow tiring, I thought enough of them hit the target here. Perhaps the best example of this comes from John and Ted sharing a special reverence to Flash Gordon which really pays off during a wild party sequence, itself somewhat reminiscent of the Vegas sequence in Get Him to the Greek. The rest of the humor mostly consists of one-liners from Ted and your mileage may vary there. The movie works hard (maybe a little too hard) to be edgy or envelop-pushing (although it’s an equal opportunity offender) through the cuddly-looking, foul-mouthed Ted, with plenty of racial jokes, 9/11 references, sexual situations, gay jokes, and injuries to kids among other things.

Mark Wahlberg has demonstrated his comedic skills in past films like The Other Guys and I Heart Huckabees, and here he works well to anchor the film. He and MacFarlane sell the buddy aspect of the story well and feature some good timing, especially since one is a CG creation. Mila Kunis does what she can as the long-suffering girlfriend, but she really isn’t given much to do. In fact, the rest of the cast doesn’t have much to do either, unfortunately. Joel McHale shows up as Lori’s slimy boss who attempts to steal her away from John in a storyline that doesn’t add much to the proceedings. Patrick Warburton, a MacFarlane regular, plays a character whose “gag” is that he discovers he’s gay. Not exactly inspired stuff.

What may surprise some viewers is that Ted goes into somewhat dramatic territory and tries to generate some actual emotion. It can be difficult for a crass movie like this to also contain heart, but some, like Bad Santa, have succeeded in the past. I won’t say that all these scenes in Ted fail necessarily, but some do feel out of place. A subplot involving a disturbing man (Giovanni Ribisi) who wants to give Ted to his son serves mostly to draw the movie out longer than necessary. You get the feeling that MacFarlane really wants you to care about Ted and I never really got to the level of emotion that the movie was aiming for.

I realize that I’ve come off pretty negative on Ted, but I actually don’t mind the film overall. It may follow the “kitchen sink” method of comedy, but when it hits, I can’t argue with the results. To actually answer the question I posed at the beginning of the review, I would say that this does ultimately feel like an extended, uncensored version of MacFarlane’s TV shows. For many fans, that will be enough, and judging by the crowd I watched it with, the movie has a large number of supporters. However, I think this brand of comedy and plotline work best in smaller doses. — Aaron

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