Bear-faced low-brow fun.

Rating: 8/10 (21 July 2015)

As the result of a childhood Christmas wish, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) has been best friends with his walking, talking, very-much-alive teddy bear Ted (Seth MacFarlane) for the past twenty seven years; together, they hang out and enjoy the finer things in life, like quality weed and repeat viewings of camp sci-fi classic Flash Gordon. Things look set to change, however, when John's girlfriend of four years, Lori (Mila Kunis), suggests that the time has come for her boyfriend to become a more responsible person and for Ted to finally find a place of his own.
With Ted, writer/director/performer Seth MacFarlane has made one of the few films to star Mark Wahlberg that I actually like (the others being Fear and Boogie Nights). Of course, my enjoyment of Ted has very little do with its leading man, but a lot to do with MacFarlane's laugh-out-loud, unapologetically politically-incorrect script, his confident direction and hilarious voice-over work. It doesn't hurt either that the film features the lovely Mila Kunis as John's love interest, a brilliant self-mocking cameo from none other than Flash Gordon himself, Mr Sam Jones, and top-notch special effects that ensure that the film titular character is someone (something?) you can really care about.
7.5/10, happily rounded up to 8 for having Ted beat the crap out of Wahlberg.