Seth MacFarlane and Mark Wahlberg splash their comedic energy in this vulgar, yet devilishly funny buddy comedy

Rating: 9/10 (21 June 2015)

Comedy fanatics can always count on Seth MacFarlane, creator of the hit animated series 'Family Guy', to put on a good show, even his raunchy humor may not be your cup of tea. This movie, marking his first major film debut, takes his patent for vulgar humor and audacious delivery of crass innuendos and cranks up a notch with this story concerning a friendship between a man and a furry childhood friend with the mouth of a sailor. That childhood friend happens to be a talking teddy bear. For a movie featuring a cuddly little toy as a faithful companion, you would believe if you are in for a kid-friendly treat. But as this is Seth MacFarlane working behind the camera, this raunchy comedy is anything but that. It is an exercise of crude, R-rated humor and profane dialogue complete with innuendos that put the humor in 'Family Guy' to shame. Ultimately, it is funny and infectiously charming to the point where it is only expected to keep you laughing almost consistently. This film follows John Bennett (played by Mark Wahlberg), a 35-year old man who shares an apartment with his foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear named Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) who he brought to life as a result of wishing upon a star when he was a child. When their infectious friendship, however, threatens to come between his relationship with his longtime girlfriend Lori (played by Mila Kunis), he must decide how to balance his their friendship while maintaining a good relationship with the woman of his dreams.
There is plenty of joy to be found in Mark Wahlberg crashing on the couch with a talking teddy bear while smoking pot and trading profane one-liners about sex and drugs. If there is anything that hinders in your one's enjoyment in these scenes, it is, of course, Seth MacFarlane's tendency of pushing the envelop with his vulgarity, his frequent excess of four-letter words, and cracking jokes on some occasionally sensitive subject matter. Nonetheless, this movie fully embraces the audacious comedic spirit MacFarlane granted in the 'Family Guy' series. And when it comes it the chemistry between the titular character and Mark Wahlberg, that is where the film peaks. Wahlberg, who has done a few comedic roles in the past such as 'The Other Guys', shows off with his infectious comedic muscle that greatly pays off in nearly each scene he comes on screen. He is also given a chance to show his serious side when the story dives into more dramatic territory which involves the crisis between his relationship with Mila Kunis. This portion of the plot is perhaps the lesser element of the story as it serves the purpose of giving the cast some time to breath from the consistent comedic absurdity that fills the air. Nonetheless, Wahlberg and MacFarlane succeed on delivering the laughs almost consistently. Sure, there are a few jokes that fall flat. But that is only occurs few and far in between.
Ted is a wildly funny and entertaining enough keep viewers, particularly those of the Seth MacFarlane fandom, engaged from beginning to end. It is also very vulgar and crude to point of taking its R-rating to its peak. In this case, the conservative crowd will be left in an uncomfortable position. But for everyone else, it scores a fun, laugh-out-loud exercise.