When You Wish Upon A Star...Turned On Its Ear!

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2012)

One has to wonder that it is quite hard to make a truly funny "conventional" comedy movie, so how on earth can a non-animated movie about a walking-talking teddy bear succeed? This stuff works fairly well for a certain kind of audience when it's animated as director MacFarlane's "The Family Guy" has shown, but with live performances, and no animation, one would think the pitfalls to be insurmountable. That said, the fact "Ted" succeeds in an even more mainstream way than MacFarlane's previous productions is a pleasant surprise.
The movie is rich in satire and detail (the kind in which you'll catch additional humorous connections with second and third viewings), but has a real beating heart underneath the veneer of its unique combination of raunchy humor and political incorrectness (most will likely be at least somewhat offended at some point) - which is pure MacFarlane! The jokes are continuous and the wit is sharp enough to blot out the occasional dead-spots. Beyond the writing though it would still likely be impossible to achieve such a level of success if it were not for the cast. Simply put, the cast is uniformly excellent â€“ like an ensemble with great chemistry. Plus, outside of the outrageous Ted there's the great device of the Patrick Stewart narration which treats the story as if it is a heart string pulling Disney family movie â€“ until it veers into the profane, but laughable.
Ted is even more over-the top than you'd expect in a come-to-life hard partying 30-something slacker teddy bear. Ted is actually a sweetheart underneath the smart-ass exterior. How the directors managed to make Ted look as real as the actors is for lack of a better description, amazing. Playing out the love story sub-plot, Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis certainly have that special something commonly called on-screen chemistry. They have to make it work because they are a couple that is simply meant to be and the viewer feels something for them. Add the fantastic characters they're surrounded by and the sum total is movie that manages to combine ribald humor with heartwarming story telling in the most unconventional sense. This movie blazes its own totally unique path. If you like comedies and are not easily offended it is an easy recommendation because it is certainly the best comedy of 2012. Plus, nice seeing Tom Skerrit back...He, he!