I enjoyed it

Rating: 7/10 (23 June 2012)

I went to see Ted at an advanced screening yesterday. This movie is exactly what I expected from the trailer: a good, fun, dirty movie that a group of friends can go and enjoy.
The story centers around Mark Wahlberg's character John who makes a wish upon a star for his teddy bear to come to life. Ted (voiced by Seth McFarland) arrives and they become friends. The movie then quickly jumps to 27 years later at a time when John and Ted sit at home smoking pot and avoiding real life responsibilities. Somehow (and the movie never really convinces me why) John has managed to date Lori (Mila Kunis) for 4 years. She is a hard working, PR executive who tries to convince John to grow up, let Teddy live his own life and become more serious about their relationship.
I thought all of the main actors did a decent job (neither Kunis or Wahlberg brought anything extra to their characters but they weren't bad) Not surprisingly, Seth McFarland stole the show as Ted. Sounding almost exactly like Peter Griffin, he manages to make Ted a foul mouthed/disgusting/crude character that you end up caring about when he's in danger at the end of the movie. Ted really cares about John, and the second half of the movie really shows their strong relationship. Unfortunately the second half of the movie is also when the movie loses steam. While most of the movie is adult fun, the final act becomes as equally cheesy and conventional as the opening sequence. There is nothing wrong with a movie trying to tug at the audiences heart strings but after spending so much time playing off the idea that this is not a kids movie (and there is no question this is not a kids movie), I would have liked an ending that wasn't seemingly written for a small child.
Other than McFarland's voice acting, the best part of this movie is the supporting characters. Ted's girlfriend (Jessica Barth) has possibly the funniest scene in the whole movie when she freaks out on Lori. Giovanni Ribisi is great as a crazed father wanting Teddy for his son. He delivers an incredible amount of creepiness and some great acting skills. Patrick Warburton (although only in a few scenes) delivers some good one-liners and is one half of a great couple (the other half is an unexpected guest star). Sam Jones had some of the funniest scenes in the movie and it was nice to see an actor playing them-self really go all out in the role. I think he's going to pick up some extra Flash fans after the movie comes out. The only person I was disappointed by was Joel McHale who just wasn't given as much good material as everyone else. He didn't do bad in the role but as a Community fan I was hoping his character would have left more of an impression.
Ultimately, if you enjoy Family Guy you will like this movie. The movie even seemed like a live-action "Family Guy" at some points. Like Family Guy, the movie will someday become very dated due to the constant recent pop culture references and one-off jokes. But that is okay, Seth McFarland knows what works in Family Guy and he keeps the same humor throughout the movie. There's some truly funny moments in "Ted" and it will keep you entertained even if it's not the future classic comedy people may be hoping for.