TED is Hilarious!

Rating: 9/10 (24 February 2013)

We all knew Seth MacFarlane would make the transition to features at some point. Whether or not you were excited at the prospect depends entirely on how much a fan you are of his small screen prime-time cartoons. I've been a fan of "Family Guy" since the beginning, even if my interest has waned in later seasons as the show has fallen into routine without the continual strength of the earlier episodes. And I'm a casual fan of "The Cleveland Show" and "American Dad." So MacFarlane's first feature film was guaranteed to sell me a movie ticket, regardless of what it was (though, to be honest, I'm glad he didn't just cash in on an easy "Family Guy" film). MacFarlane's style of comedy shines through in TED, so people who aren't a fan of his shows might not be impressed with his first film. Cut-away gags, pop culture references, and raunchy jokes made funnier with the fact that they're being spewed from a stuffed bear. Speaking as a MacFarlane fan (and therefore biased, I suppose), I really loved TED. It's an age-old tale of a young boy's love for his best friend, a teddy bear he receives for Christmas. A Christmas wish brings little Ted to life and, twenty years later, John Bennett and Ted are still best buds. But playtime and childhood has been replaced with weed and FLASH GORDON, and the friendship between these two slackers risks destroying John's relationship with his girlfriend Lori unless he can learn to grow up.
As a fan, I actually thought MacFarlane's style transitioned nicely to a feature film. The cut- away gags are kept to a minimum and are used effectively. The pop culture references are everywhere, in just about every joke, with a special focus on the 1980 movie version of FLASH GORDON starring Sam Jones. MacFarlane must have a soft spot for the movie because it gets a lot of attention, with Jones even popping in for a hilarious cameo in the middle of the movie. Every time I've seen TED, Queen's FLASH GORDON theme is stuck in my head for the next two days. Maintaining the MacFarlane vibe are a bunch of his TV buddies filling out some of the movie's supporting roles: Alex Borstien, Ralph Garman, Patrick Warburton, Ryan Reynolds, and, of course, Patrick Stewart as the voice of the narrator. It's a "Family Guy" fan's perfect movie. Mila Kunis (another "Family Guy" star) is John's girlfriend Lori. Kunis is a guilty pleasure of mine. She's never really proved to be a particularly strong actress or gotten the chance to experiment with much range (with the exception of BLACK SWAN, I suppose) but she's has a habit popping up in some of my favorite comedies. She's got a great chemistry with Mark Wahlberg and their relationship feels sincere. Wahlberg's the best here. The man can do comedy. He surprised me with his comedy chops opposite Will Ferrell in THE OTHER GUYS in 2010, and TED solidifies the man's talent for making me laugh. I was never really interested in Wahlberg's work until the last few years when he took a turn towards the funny.
As good as Wahlberg and Kunis are, the obvious scene-stealer here is going to be the walking, talking teddy bear. The CG work in the movie is absolutely seamless and I never found myself doubting Ted's existence in the context of the movie. MacFarlane voices the bear himself and, despite a Boston accent that cuts a little to close to Peter Griffin (a fact that the movie acknowledges, funnily enough), he's a hilarious new creation that stands above a lot of MacFarlane's television work. No matter how many funny characters cross the screen in TED, the spotlight is always on the bear and for good reason. I would love to see the character get a TV show of his own, but it'd have to be on cable. Network TV wouldn't broadcast half the material coming out of Ted's mouth. TED is one of the funniest movies of 2012, coming in just below 21 JUMP STREET for funniest of the year in my opinion. My only complaint on TED would be that the story is weakly structured. The first two thirds of the movie focus on Ted, John, and Lori's relationship and the final act shifts gears into the realm of action with a chase sequence and kidnapping foreshadowed briefly in the beginning of the movie. If the movie hadn't lost focus and stuck to it's course, it would've been even better.
I imagine this will be a pretty divisive movie. People who aren't a fan of MacFarlane's sense of humor probably won't be swayed by the movie, but people like mepeople who continue to enjoy his TV shows, even at their weakest (I'm looking a you "Cleveland Show")will laugh our heads off.