THE MOVIE TED

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Published on Wednesday, 04 July 2012 19:48

Having a penchant for making the absurd reality, MacFarlane brings us the story of Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) a stuffed teddy bear brought to life by a lonely boy's wish for a friend one stormy evening. Swearing an allegiance to be "Thunder Buddies" forever Ted and John (Mark Wahlberg) become overnight celebrities for the world has never seen a talking Teddy bear before. But, as the two find out, Americans tire easily and when the shock value wears off and we as a society find our next media fix to exploit the two become washed up child stars.

Flash forward twenty or so years and John is in a steady relationship with Lori, she being the only responsible one in this would be odd three way of a couple, all living under one roof. Lori, played by the delightful Mila Kunis (Family Guy) wants to marry John but knows until she can get him to sever this bond of boy and his bear, the marriage is doomed from the start.

The jokes come fast and furious, many whipping by never leaving a mark but the ones that do make a direct hit make sitting through Ted all worth while. Played straight for what it is, a movie about two best friends struggling with being has-beens and now aimless stoners MacFarlane and his cast of characters pull off the absurdity flawlessly.

The brief cameo by Alex Borstein (another Family Guy alum) as John's mother seeing the talking Teddy bear for the first time is priceless. Mentions have to go out to all though, from Joel McHale and Giovanni Ribisi as the two main antagonists to fellow MacFarlane favorites like Patrick Warburton as Guy who thinks he's into guys and Patrick Stewart as the narrator the cast and MacFarlane truly bring this stuffed bear to life. Many other guest shots like the love interest for Warburton's character and others I'd love to mention but don't want to ruin the joy their appearance makes in this strangely delightful and somewhat moving tale of friendship and vulgarity.

This Fourth of July, don't wait for a storm to make Ted your own personal thunder buddy for like many of the fireworks that will be going off, some of the jokes are duds but most sparkle making this the comedy to see over the holiday.

Rated R by the MPAA for crude and sexual content, pervasive language and drug use.

Running time: 1hr 46 minutes.