Movie Review: Ted

Family Guy’s Seth McFarlane writers, directs, stars and potty mouths as the most profane and disgusting teddy bear of all time in Ted. And if you’re familiar with the much loved cartoon series of his, you should expect a heck of a lot of laughs.

Unlike Family Guy, Ted is given an adults only rating and it almost seems like McFarlane let fly at the opportunity and decided to dole up the most objectionable and vulgar jokes that he could muster. He does it, but fortunately he does it classily. It’s quite an achievement when a poop joke doesn’t make you roll your eyes, or a volley of F-bombs from a stuffed bear are placed for comedy sake instead of inane profanity. Though not as side splittingly hilarious as this year’s The Dictator, satirical and political wisecracks are bound to cause a cramp or two in your stomach out of all the giggling.

Starring a deliberately awkward Mark Wahleberg as John Benett, a man-child attached to his childhood pal – a talking teddy bear, Ted is awash with the typical McFarlane dosage of pop-culture references, non-sequitur cutaway gags and unabashed celebrity bashing. We have a cute little teddy bear who smokes pot, picks up hookers, swears at anything that moves, and loves his best friend John. Trouble begins when the fiancé (Mila Kunis) gets tired of Ted constantly hanging around them and ruining John’s career. What follows is a fun parable of whether bros before hoes is indeed the right thing to do, especially when you’re dating someone who looks like Mila Kunis. Surprisingly, Ted takes a sweet and sentimental turn in the final third which may frustrate viewers looking for a big, brash showdown of a finale. Not so surprising, however, is the obvious nod to Family Guy, because Ted and John may well be the grown up versions of Stewie and his beloved bear.

(First published in MiD Day)