I Would've Given it 10 Stars, but...

Rating: 8/10 (13 July 2013)

...Seth McFarlane cannot get over the idea that ridiculing racism, sexism, and homophobia can be accomplished by doing some kind of "meta" mumbo jumbo that lets you still make jokes at the expense of those who are non-white, non-Christian, non-heterosexual, and non-male. And it's too bad, because this is a very funny movie. But unless you are a white heterosexual male of a certain age, you might struggle to get past the offensive stuff and miss an otherwise very funny, moving story, with great acting and directing, and superb comic timing. Considering how well this movie did at the box office, I can only assume that if McFarlane stopped the extreme offensive stuff, his future movies would do even better, because he'd have an audience that includes people that are not just white men raised in the 80s. Every time the offensive stuff popped up in "Ted," it was superfluous, and actually stopped the momentum of the story. (A flat, unfunny bit involving the Patrick Warburton character comes to mind, and the payoff later in the movie was not worth it. A cameo character involved in the bit was momentarily funny, but there are so many other ways to achieve the level of humor he was aiming for without stopping the momentum of his story and offending a significant proportion of the American public in one fell swoop.) It's clear he can be hysterically funny without the offensive material, so why interrupt a great, funny story with stuff that alienates up to half of his potential viewers? And make no mistake, the offensive jokes are as superfluous as the related humor is necessary to the story. The jokes that are specific to the story work without fail and are great. (Including one that was the most extreme scatological bit I've ever seen, but I still found hysterical.) The offensive jokes do not work and are just not worth it. The best humor takes aim at those with the wherewithal to handle it, not those who are already marginalized. I've read McFarlane making the excuse is that he's poking fun at a society that allows these issues to marginalize people. Given that the story is about maturity coming when one learns to take responsibility for one's own behavior, his excuse comes across as lazy, immature and extremely ironic. I challenge Seth McFarlane to make a movie that does not require his fans to defend him, but can appeal to everyone. Take a lesson from Chris Rock, who knows how to engage in topical humor without cutting down those who are already victimized by society. And learn to write jokes without using the word "rape."