Ted

Who would have thought you could make a raunchy, funny flick about a talking magical teddy bear that still kept the charm all through the movie without feeling like a gimmick?  I sure as hell didn't. This is Director Seth McFarlane's first feature film and he didn't seem to miss a beat. I've seen various episodes of Family Guy and American Dad and there have been some genuinely funny stuff there but it was always hard to think of these shows as anything but a poor man's Simpsons. I always found McFarlane engaging and interesting though when he would show up on Bill Maher so when I saw the first few trailers for the film I was ready to dismiss it but when I saw his name attached, I was curious, where was he going to be able to go with this? First off this flick is drenched with 80's pop culture toys and movies.  My mind was racing at how much they probably had to pay to reference all this shit. I swear I saw a Darth Vader figure carrying case. I personally had the C-3PO one but damn I hadn't seen one of those in years.  This almost felt autobiographical to some degree, he's only a few years older than me so it wouldn't be much of a stretch that he played with the same toys. And I know my friend Boston Mike was excited about the locale in the film. If you haven't been to Boston or the surrounding area this flick will give you a nice tour and you can get a good idea about the local color and cuisine. You can pretty much hold onto your money, throw down your Fodors, Time Out and whatever travel mag you are reading and just go see this movie. Seriously, I think every major landmark from Somerville to Framingham is featured in the movie. I myself recently visited to see my little brother, some cousins and my of course my good friend Mike, so some of the places shown in the flick were fresh on my mind.

When John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) was a kid he didn't have any friends and the other kids seemed to loathe him. So one Christmas he received the gift of a giant Teddy Bear aptly named Ted(voice of Seth McFarlane) and he made a wish for him to be real, and it being a Christmas wish naturally means that it will come true.  So one morning Ted actually started to speak to him and they were the best of friends just like any other typical child wish fulfillment film. But it doesn't end there Ted becomes an instant sensation and celebrity as he finds himself on Carson and other shows. But at the end of the day people grow up and move on and even a talking Teddy Bear, eventually, isn't a big fucking deal. John and Ted are now adults and they are still inseparable which causes problems with John's live-in-girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis).

This was a damn funny movie I found myself chuckling at just about everything McFarlane was able to throw at me.  Mark Wahlberg has proven that his funny turn in The Other Guys wasn't a fluke. McFarlane did a great job with the Ted/John fight scene, it was intense which made it even funnier, absurd, but damn funny. And it's always nice to see Mila Kunis she's smart and funny and keeps pace with the guys well, not to mention she's easy on the eyes. Patrick Stewart's narrator was surprisingly one of the best parts of the whole thing. I guess having the voice of Jean Luc Picard cursing and rambling about the awesomeness of Apache helicopters was enough to have me rolling on the floor with giggle fits. Also the inclusion of Sam Jones, the star of the craptastic Flash Gordon movie from the 80's, had me grinning from ear to ear. Now I will admit that it followed this new normal in comedies where the lead characters meet up with a has been actor from a pop culture 70's or 80's tv/movie. But it definitely worked Sam Jones was awesome and it did make me want to see Flash again. There haven't been too many comedies in recent times I could say had me howling on the floor so go and see the flick while it's still in theatres you won't regret it.

Grade: 4 Buckets