Better than its peers

Rating: 8/10 (7 September 2012)

John(Wahlberg, with his usual "not the brightest bulb but nice guy" charm) had trouble making friends as a child, so at 7, he wished for his plush bear(MacFarlane, playing it like a nasty jerk who does have some empathy) to be alive, and it was granted(and this wisely has everyone know that it is, so he doesn't have to be hidden and dressed up for the entirety, with that lame material we've seen countless times for several decades). They both age over the years, and when we rejoin them, he's been dating Lori(Kunis, not coming off like she's nagging, and who can laugh with the other two... we believe they would get together and stay together, it's not a "what is she doing with him" kind of thing so typical in recent American fictional media) for 4 years, and she wants them to go to the next level. All three relationships are very credible, as are most of the characters(except for the ones that are just there for us to laugh at) and their logic. As he tries to develop more maturity, we of course indulge in plenty of juvenile fun, albeit this has almost even amounts of genuinely sweet and/or dramatic moments(it has serious heart, and the ending may very well make you cry... in spite of the unnecessary parts of the climax). This is raunchy, with lots of strong language, mild violence and brief nudity... we get jokes about various sexual, religious and ethnic groups, and this tries to offend absolutely everyone. It is hilarious(it really doesn't try too hard), and yes, there are one or two gags there to push the boundaries; it's an R-rated comedy, it's expected... with that said, this is miles above the usual outing in this genre. The writing and performances are where this shines, with the plot being the weakest(though it is done well), as it is so simplistic and obvious... we've seen it so many times already. And as already mentioned, the third act is... a tad off. It doesn't fit with the clever "symbol of stunted growth" concept. There are pop culture references, parodies, and excellent guest stars. The FX are impeccably integrated and animated, you fully believe what you see is real. I recommend this to any fan of the director(who fares rather well for his debut), the cast(McHale is great as an insufferable boss who won't accept that he can't date Mila, and Ribisi is fantastic... note that Warburton is barely in it) and this kind of movie. 8/10