Not The Perfect Comedy, But Pretty Damn Funny

Rating: 7/10 (29 June 2012)

Ted has been on my list of comedies to watch since I started hearing about it. The idea is great and I do enjoy Seth MacFarlane's style of comedy. Sure enough, that is what Ted is. I've heard it be called a long episode of Family Guy, and while that isn't accurate, it does say a lot about the kind of humor Ted evokes. And I had a pretty good time with it.
MacFarlane voices the titular character, best friend to Walberg's Jon. When Jon makes a wish as a kid for his teddy bear to come to life it does, becomes a sensation, and becomes Jon's best friend. If you were wondering how, exactly, the whole teddy bear come to life thing works in the real world sense, it does, and the history of Jon and Ted is told early in the film in a pretty damn funny narration. I will say that, while Ted may be a very interesting idea, and the whole notion of a raunchy teddy bear acting like a man-child is pretty funny in and of itself, Ted could easily have been replaced by a normal person, and the film would be as funny. It's Seth's writing and humor that shine here.
MacFarlane has always done good voice work on Family Guy and American Dad, and it translates here pretty well. Ted is obviously the voice of Peter Griffin, and you can't shake that feeling, but Ted also comes into his own as a character. The idea of a raunchy, foul mouthed, man-child teddy bear faded on me pretty quick, which goes to show how well the film was done. Ted's interaction with people never feels weird or out of place. It comes naturally and everyone does a great job of interacting with him. Props to Mila Kunis and especially Mark Walberg, who once again proves that he can do great at comedy. This is a role uncommon for Mark, and where he was a funny guy in The Other Guys, he's even funnier here.
MacFarlane proves fairly adept at taking to the camera for the first time and directing his actors. Nothing here is spectacular, I'd even say the film is fairly predictable, but the comedy is gold here. It doesn't hit with a continuous rhythm, but when it hits, it's laugh out loud funny. But, like I said, it's a lot of the usual MacFarlane humor, pulling out some odd pop-culture references here and there, making lingering jokes, and even some very odd, wtf moments. I did, a few times, raise my hands in a wtf gesture. Luckily, the film also has heart. Ted is a little bit too obvious as an object for Jon, who has trouble putting away childish things, but Ted and Jon's relationship shines as honest and natural. Even if Ted is a teddy bear, you still accept what he and Jon have.
Ted certainly isn't a perfect comedy. A number of jokes fall flat if you don't get the pop references or are into some of the ongoing bits, like those involving Flash Gordon (although, I did find all the Flash Gordon stuff pretty amusing). The script also has a few issues being a bit cliché and staying too long on certain jokes. Much like Family Guy, some stuff here just isn't that funny or stays on too long. But, the majority of the film is funny. I certainly laughed out loud quite a bit. So, if you enjoy the MacFarlane brand of humor and find yourself at a loss for comedies this summer, Ted should entertain you quite a bit.