A continuation of Seth MacFarlane's descent into awfulness

Rating: 2/10 (7 August 2012)

I was a fan of Family Guy, but emphasize the use of past tense. I thought its first three seasons were pretty consistently hilarious; after that it was uneven, but pretty funny when it was good; yet then it took a turn for the worst and just became unbearable, so I stopped watching. Before going to Ted, I tried to watch a new episode, but I couldn't sit through it. However the good reviews that this film was garnering told me that maybe, just maybe, it might be better than I had previously hoped. Alas...
It was pretty awful. From the start, I knew what I was in for, but I had hoped that over the course of its relatively brief runtime, it may pick up, and I would find myself in a state of hysterical laughter; yet I could only dream of it. We've seen this kind of clichéd plot before, usually without a bear, yet that didn't bother me going in, but some of the 'romantic' and 'heartfelt' were so generic and unoriginal I was bored to tears! I like Mark Wahlberg - brilliant in Boogie Nights and The Departed - but here, all he could do was work with what he was given, and that wasn't much. I'll admit, he made me guffaw, only once. The acting overall was nothing special and at times unengaging. There were a few nice cameos (hello Norah Jones, hello Sam Jones), but they were unfortunately wasted.
And as for, the 'comedy'; it was nasty, obnoxious, crass, etc. Now, don't get the wrong idea, that I'm prude or anything, I love everything from Wonder Showzen to Trey Parker and Matt Stone's work to Bill Hicks, but I've seen the jokes here countless times in the past, and didn't find 'em funny the first time round. I adore risqué humour when it's trying to make a point or convey a message, not when it's there for a cheap laugh. A teddy bear humping a cash register is not funny. A teddy bear on weed is not funny. Obnoxiously insulting Brandon Routh is not funny. Especially six years on! If you're gonna make a joke about a celebrity try and do it when current and relevant.
I wouldn't recommend this at all. If, for some godforsaken reason you still think Family Guy is great, then you'll probably lap this up, but if you thankfully don't, well then, steer clear of this turd. While watching this in the cinema, the audience were in uncontrollable bouts of laughter, while I had a bad taste in my mouth. With his live-action debut Seth MacFarlane had an opportunity to prove himself a great comedic talent, he's wasted it and opted to the lowest common denominator of unfunny, unoriginal and eye-rolling cheap laughs. If you want the comedy of the year so far, go watch 21 Jump Street.