The “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane takes his talents to the big screen with his directorial debut, “Ted.” J.P. gives his quick take on the ranchy bear comedy.
TED
Universal Pictures
Rated: R
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel McHale and Seth MacFarlane as Ted
Directed by: Seth MacFarlane
Writers: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild
Produced by: Scott Stuber, Seth MacFarlane, John Jacobs, Jason Clark
Executive Producer: Jonathan Mone
Studio Synopsis:
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane brings his boundary-pushing brand of humor to the big screen for the first time as writer, director and voice star of Ted. In the live action/CG-animated comedy, he tells the story of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), a grown man who must deal with the cherished teddy bear who came to life as the result of a childhood wish…and has refused to leave his side ever since.
J.P.’s Take:
Seth McFarlane puts his comical stamp on the big screen with his feature film debut “Ted.” But don’t be fooled by the cuddly bear in the trailers, be warned — this isn’t a movie for kids.
McFarlane has a knack for irreverent humor as evident in his animated creations “Family Guy” and “American Dad.” Somehow he finds a way to weave all sorts of socio-political fodder into hysterical, highly offensive tapestries of media. So, it’s no surprise to me that in watching “Ted” I knew what I was in for. “Ted” finds McFarlane expanding on his personal brand of politically incorrect, racially charged comedy, which kept me laughing through out its running.
Consider “Ted” to be part buddy film and part romantic comedy, with the CG animated teddy being the center of attention. Voiced by Mr. McFarlane himself, Ted is given a personality equivalent of 30-something male, with a playboy social life and pot habit.
Much of the comedy stems from his interactions with his human counterparts. In fact, the chemistry between Ted and human co-stars Mark Wahlberg (playing John Bennett) and Mila Kunis (girlfriend Lori Collins) felt pretty genuine, allowing the audience to sympathize with them.
Although the story is run of the mill, I still laughed enough to want to keep watching. To be honest, this is a comedy worthy seeing in theaters and certainly one of the funniest movies on my list of zany comedies to see this year.