Thunder Buddies 4Ever!

Rating: 6/10 (11 July 2012)

I wanted to like this movie a whole lot more than I did. Sure, I'm partly killing time before "Beasts of the Southern Wild" reaches the suburbs, but I used to be a "Family Guy" fan, and I don't mind some crude cinematic humor when it's broiling out. Trust me, on this front, "Ted' more than delivers. Fart jokes? Check! Fat kid jokes? Check. (Serious question: Did Seth MacFarlane get beat up a lot when he was young by a fat kid?) Breaking the fourth wall? Check. Random cruel observations about washed up media stars? Check. (Another question: Does Seth MacFarlane get the irony of casting not one, but two, former child stars in this movie? Probably.)
Plot: A friendless youngster in a Boston suburb gets a teddy bear for Christmas and makes a wish that the bear will become real. Because there is no magic stronger than the love between a kid and his stuffed pal, this actually happens. The kid grows up to be John (Mark Wahlberg), and the bear, Ted, grows up to be a pot-smoking, call girl courting, potty mouthed guy, who's still Best Friends Forever and roomies with his pal. John is a slacker, but he's got a good heart, and has been dating Lori (Mila Kunis) for four years. Lori, who wants to get married, gives John an ultimatum: it's either her or Ted. Meanwhile Ted is in danger (of a sort) from a stalker (Giovanni Ribisi) who wants to purchase Ted for his spoiled son.
"Ted" has some hysterical moments, but the humor is uneven. When "Ted' is funny, it's very, very funny; when it's not, it falls flat. It's the kind of movie that turns sentimental and mushy at the end, which doesn't really go with the rest of the over-the-top crude scenes. I did enjoy seeing the Boston landmarks, though. Joel McHale also did a superb job as Kunis' slimy boss, Rex.