Seth Macfarlane's "Ted": A surprise, or a disappointment to fans?

 

I’ll admit, when I first heard about Seth Macfarlane’s movie about a talking teddy bear starring Mark Wahlberg, my excitement came with a heavy dose of scepticism.  A teddy bear alongside Mark Wahlberg is enough to make fans of both Macfarlane and Wahlberg raise an eyebrow, especially after Wahlberg’s last comedy, The Other Guys, was a gigantic disappointment.  Nonetheless, when the first trailer was released, some of the scepticism diminished.  When G.I. Joe was taken out of the summer lineup for the year, Ted swooped in a picked up it’s place in June instead of its original place in July, so those of us who were excited about it were pleasantly surprised to see it sooner than expected.

Ted is the storyof what happens after a young John Bennett makes a wish for his teddy bear to come to life.  In his mid-tirties, John (Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter) finds himself living with his still talking bear, Ted (Seth Macfarlane, Family Guy,) and his girlfirend, Lori (Mila Kunis, That 70’s Show.)  After their four year anniversarry, Lori brings to light John’s lack of maturity and productivity in his life and forces him to kick Ted out.

On his own, with the help of John, Ted finds an apartment, a job at a local supermarket, and is partying like never before.  John soon finds himself forced to choose between his life-long friend, or his girlfriend, ultimately choosing between childhood and adulthood.

Seth Macfarlane not only voiced Ted, but also wrote and directed this outrageous comedy, and it is very apparent within the first five minutes of the movie.  Family Guy enthusiasts will enjoy a similar comedic style to the popular adult cartton and the many references it makes to the series.  For those who dislike Family Guy or are not familiar with the series, don’t worry, it differs itself enough from the series that only those who are looking for similarities are guaranteed to find them.

As for Wahlberg’s performance, I was pleasantly surprised as well.  After the flod of The Other Guys, there was good reason to be concerned with the comedic factor of his acting, but my concerns were quickly put to rest.  His interactions with Kunis and Macfarlane, although out of his usually type cast, were believeable and funny.

So all-in-all, it was a very good show.  It was very funny and well worth the money for the admission ticket, and even the DVD when it comes out, which I will definitely be buying.  This movie deserves a 7/10.

This film is rated R for crude and sexual content (implied sex, sexual dialogue, and nudity involving a brief shot of a woman’s bare chest and a man’s bare buttocks,) pervasive language (many vulgar words including sexual slang terms, several uses of the “F-word” and one use of the “C-word,”) and some drug use (explicit usage of marijuana and implied usage of cocaine.)

Ben Asper