Movies: Ted

Score:  ***1/2 out of ***** (B)


Scoring note:  mostly due to the fact that I am often torn between rating movies at the 3.5 to 4 star level, I am also going to include a letter score now.  5 stars = A+ (extremely rare); 4.5 stars = A; 4 stars = either A- or B+; 3.5 stars = either B or B-; 3 stars = C+ or C; 2.5 stars = C- or D+; below that is not really worth grading.


Long Story Short:  Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, at long last brings his trademark comic flare to the big screen with Ted.  Writing, directing, and voicing the bear himself, MacFarlane hits those same humorous buttons, a combination of vulgarity and clever pop culture parody.  It's enough to make up for a dry dramatic backbone played out by Wahlberg and Kunis.  Really solid comedy.




The summer marches on, and although it's now July, Ted was released on the last weekend in June.  To wrap up the first half of summer, Ted is the second straightforward comedy I've seen this year.  This is most definitely Seth MacFarlane's movie:  he came up with the idea, directed it, co-wrote it, and does the voice work for Ted.  I enjoy MacFarlane's TV creation Family Guy, although I haven't seen it for awhile now, and with an interesting premise, Ted seemed like a great choice for my second comedy of the year.  Aside from MacFarlane's contributions, the film also stars Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis (who voices a character on Family Guy, by the way).


The film begins during the Christmas season of 1985, where 8-year-old John wants a good friend more than anything else.  His parents get him a stuffed teddy bear for Christmas and, due to the power of a little boy's wish and a falling star, the bear comes to life and becomes that best friend he was looking for.  As the opening credits start, the film cycles through scenes of John and Ted growing up together, and when the action starts again Ted is living in John's (Wahlberg) apartment, who is 35 and working a middling job.  John also has a girlfriend, Lori (Kunis), whose patience with Ted is wearing thin as the couple reaches their fourth anniversary together.


So begins a sort of "love triangle," as John seems to love both Ted and Lori equally and has to, but cannot, choose between them.  Making matters worse are a creepy adult stalking Ted, another man lusting after Lori, and a boyhood hero of Ted's and John's come to life, among other things.  I don't want to give away any of the specific comic shenanigans (fortunately, only one or two were spoiled for me beforehand), so I'll leave the plot details at that.


Like 21 Jump Street, Ted features a somewhat unconventional cast for a comedy.  Seth MacFarlane does a fine job voicing Ted, to no surprise (he sounds a lot like Peter from Family Guy), and the visual effects are almost entirely convincing.  Ted does not have much of a personality, other than somehow being both off-putting and supportive, but he is responsible for a large majority of the film's humor.  I was dreading the casting of Mark Wahlberg, but... he's actually not that bad here.  He's still far from being a comedian, but he is a decent fit for the sort of naive, well-meaning man-child that John is.  Mila Kunis does a pretty good job with her part; unfortunately, her part is terribly boring.  When she opens her mouth to speak, you know that the comedy part of Ted is over for the time being and the drama is starting.  There are some great supporting roles in Ted, including Patrick Stewart as the narrator (simply brilliant), Joel McHale (Community) as Lori's lusty boss (really well done), a few small roles for people you will recognize and enjoy, and a few other cameos that I won't spoil here.


MacFarlane obviously knows the world of comedy very well, but he also wanted to give Ted a real story, too.  This is a bit hit-and-miss.  The live-teddy-bear concept really is neat and there are moments when this is highlighted, but others where Ted might as well be just another troublesome buddy.  Lori, as stated, is pretty boring, as is her relationship with John, but there is enough going on around them to (mostly) negate this.  Fortunately, the humor is very well done.  I should say, if you enjoy Family Guy humor, you will enjoy it.  It is almost like two movies in one:  John and Lori are reserved for the obligatory story, and Ted and most of the rest for the comedy.  I also want to note the score here, which features big-band, show tunes-y stuff.  It's a MacFarlane signature (did you know he is a Grammy- nominated artist?) and fits really well in this film.


***


An impressive accomplishment for his first directorial effort, MacFarlane's Ted is just a really solid film.  Although before I go further I should stress again:  this film is not for everyone.  Much of the humor is crude and obviously geared toward a younger male audience (like Family Guy).  So don't tell me I didn't warn you! ;-)  Anyway... Ted is a bit on the long side, but I chalk this up to MacFarlane's inexperience with movies.  A good edit would strip five to ten minutes from the boring "dramatic" parts which in turn would help the humor to flow even better.  Still, as a comedy, there isn't much else to fault about Ted.  Not all the jokes work, but more than enough do.  It's got a strong foundation of vulgar Ted and does so many of the little things around him right, from the Stewart narration to the pop culture parodies.  If you enjoy Family Guy, see this; if you hate it, don't.  For those of you in the middle?  It depends on your other tastes in comedy, but Ted is probably worth a try if you are on the fence about it.