Like a middling "Family Guy" episode

Rating: 5/10 (21 November 2012)

In his directorial debut Seth MacFarlane does not wander far from the "Family Guy" tropes that made him wealthy. During a party montage the film even admits the voice MacFarlane uses for Ted mimics that he uses for the Peter Griffin character. It is these montages and asides that are MacFarlane's strong suit (basically "Family Guy" is an referential and observational stand-up comedy routine held together with a nominal plot) and their lack makes the film somewhat plodding. MacFarlane is forced to rely more so on plot which represents a challenge which he attempts by cobbling together a coming of age story about Mark Walberg's delinquent loser character and a talking teddy bear. Walberg feels much too put together to pull off the pot-smoking middle aged delinquent and Mila Kunis is much too one-note to be of consistent interest. The teddy bear character is just stupid and ultimately adds little to the proceedings a more conventional character couldn't have sufficed. However, some laughs pepper the over-long affair although they tend to be of the "in December comes a very special day - the day the neighborhood kids beat up the Jewish kid" variety. In short, watching back-episodes of the show on Hulu represents a better return on time.