It was the drugs that made him a real boy!

Rating: 6/10 (3 July 2012)

While there are many funny moments, "Ted" tends to run into the same problems that one would expect out of an almost two hour episode of "Family Guy"; a simplistic story with some extremely clever jokes and hilarious one liners mixed equally with niche 80's references and jokes that bomb miserably. With the assistance of many of the actors from Seth MacFarlane's own animated creations (Family Guy, American Dad) and Mark Wahlberg (Boogie Nights, The Fighter), the uber-talented MacFarlane writes/directs and does the voice of the talking teddy bear himself, in his first feature film "Ted".
Using his own satirical take on New England culture, MacFarlane crafts the story of an inanimate teddy bear named Ted, who because of a wish from a child named John, becomes a vulgar talking teddy bear who smokes pot and loves the ladies. But years later as 35 year old John and Ted's juvenile relationship continues, John's girlfriend Lori wonders if there is any hope for her relationship with John to become serious as long as Ted is constantly hanging around. While this super simplistic buddy comedy storyline is accentuated by various comic detours (or bits) that are good for some out loud laughs, the demo audience (depending on how young they are) may not get a substantial amount of the heavy 1980's references, such as a constant (but well crafted) cameo from Flash Gordon himself, Sam Jones.
Problems arise in the second half of this film when the comic momentum is all but lost, due to a combination of necessary story arch sentimentality, an overuse of 80's reference and a "bad guy" element that not even an immensely talented actor like Giovanni Ribisi (Boiler Room) could salvage. There is also the visually distracting fact that Walberg is so much older than Mila Kunis (who plays his long time girlfriend) but, I digress.
Final Thought: I will say it again, MacFarlane is undoubtedly one of the most talented people on television (in the 30 minute format) and while "Ted" showcases why his fanbase is so large, his feature film directorial attempt isn't as strong as other animation geniuses turned filmmakers, such as Mike Judge (King of the Hill, Office Space). Go see "Ted" if you are a fan of Seth MacFarlane, otherwise seeing a movie like this, may turn out to be only an above average and far too hit and miss of a movie going experience.