Ted - Review Thread

[sshuttari]

Ted - Review Thread



This movie did not impress me from the trailer: Seemed like a live action version of Family Guy with Peter as a Teddy Bear (which some what it is). To my shock I laughed my ass off unlike Family Guy which has warned out it's welcome. Much of the films gags stick more then not and that helps a movie like this a lot. It's a good, fun, dirty movie that a group of friends can enjoy.

The story centers around Mark Wahlberg's character John who makes a wish upon a star for his teddy bear to come to life. Ted (voiced by Seth McFarland) arrives and they become friends. The movie then quickly jumps to 27 years later at a time when John and Ted sit at home smoking pot and avoiding real life responsibilities. Somehow (and the movie never really convinces me why) John has managed to date Lori (Mila Kunis) for 4 years. She is a hard working, PR executive who tries to convince John to grow up, let Teddy live his own life and become more serious about their relationship.

I thought all of the main actors did a decent job (neither Kunis or Wahlberg brought anything extra to their characters but they weren't bad) Not surprisingly, Seth McFarland stole the show as Ted. Sounding almost exactly like Peter Griffin, he manages to make Ted a foul mouthed/disgusting/crude character that you end up caring about when he's in danger at the end of the movie. Ted really cares about John, and the second half of the movie really shows their strong relationship. Unfortunately the second half of the movie is also when the movie loses steam. While most of the movie is adult fun, the final act becomes as equally cheesy and conventional as the opening sequence. There is nothing wrong with a movie trying to tug at the audiences heart strings but after spending so much time playing off the idea that this is not a kids movie (and there is no question this is not a kids movie), I would have liked an ending that wasn't seemingly written for a small child.

Other than McFarland's voice acting, the best part of this movie is the supporting characters. Ted's girlfriend (Jessica Barth) has possibly the funniest scene in the whole movie when she freaks out on Lori. Giovanni Ribisi is great as a crazed father wanting Teddy for his son. He delivers an incredible amount of creepiness and some great acting skills. Patrick Warburton (although only in a few scenes) delivers some good one-liners and is one half of a great couple (the other half is an unexpected guest star). Sam Jones had some of the funniest scenes in the movie and it was nice to see an actor playing them-self really go all out in the role. I think he's going to pick up some extra Flash fans after the movie comes out. The only person I was disappointed by was Joel McHale who just wasn't given as much good material as everyone else. He didn't do bad in the role but as a Community fan I was hoping his character would have left more of an impression.

Ultimately, if you enjoy Family Guy you will like this movie. Like Family Guy, the movie will someday become very dated due to the constant recent pop culture references and one-off jokes. But that is okay. There's some truly funny moments in "Ted" and it will keep you entertained even if it's not the future classic comedy people may be hoping for.

***1/2/*****

[sshuttari]

P.S.

Neverending.... I'll take back my bashing of the film in the movie thread... You were right it turned out quite funny.

[IanTheCool]

If we don't like Family Guy, are we going to hate this?

[sshuttari]

Depends did you enjoy the first couple seasons of family guy? Cuz if you did then yes but if you never enjoyed it well... You won't like it.

[Tornado]

I'm really excited to see this one tomorrow night.

[MovieBuff801]

I've never liked Family Guy. And this looks absolutely dreadful.

Pass.

[the elmo zombie]

The most I've laughed watching a film so far this year. Even more than Moonrise Kingdom and 21 Jump Street. I'm not a fan of Family Guy, but I loved this movie.

[DarthVader 2004]

Something about a grown man having a buddy teddy bear seems stupid. It looks funny no question but its not something i feel I need to see. I'll save it for a rental down the road likely.

[Drizzt240]

So I heard Ebert likes this. Might have to check it out.

[Tolkien]

It's silly, it's stupid, it's crude, but dammit did I laugh so ****ing much during this film today. And I needed it too, I've been in a piss-poor mood lately. But seriously though, this film was sooooo freaking funny. My favorite scenes had to include; Ted's scenes at his job (especially his boss, lol), Ted vs. Duck and of course, Ted vs. John. I couldn't stop laughing at those scenes. Not to mention, Mila Kunis is funny/hot as ever. God I love a funny hot chick.

[Hollywood]

Love family guy show. Thought the movie was great ****/*****. I thought it wasnt gona have too much of a story but surprised it did.

[nine1wing]

If u saw all the trailers and the rated r trailers other then the handicap thing at the end, u saw 90 percent of the jokes. I laughed more in thats my boy

[Justin]

You would.

[Tornado]

Originally Posted by nine1wing

I laughed more in thats my boy

Then there is no help for you.

[SnoBorderZero]

I honestly thought "A Thousand Words" was the best comedy of the year, it justttt beats out "That's my Boy".

[IAmARevenant]

Originally Posted by nine1wing

I laughed more in thats my boy

does this not surprise anyone else?

[Ewok Droppings]

I really want to see this.

[Hollywood]

It is a definite see, and does anyone know where i can find the image for the Garfield part? Gona do for a joke for friend.

[Mr. Black]

The movie is what it is... crude, cute, stupid, and funny!
I enjoyed every second.

Btw- my favorite moment might've been the dance to Tiffany scene!

[Ramplate]

yeah people are up in arms about a Lou Gehrig disease joke - what did they expect from McFarlane? Lighten up a little they're crude but never seriously mean

[Neverending]

Can we give this film the Oscar already? Seriously.

[IanTheCool]

Let me preface this review by saying that I can't stand Family Guy. And for that reason I was pretty sure that I would dislike Ted as well. But I didn't. In fact, I quite liked it. Which made me start to wonder why I liked this movie when I usually despise Seth Macfarlane's other work. So for this review I'm going to look at why Ted works for me when Family Guy does not.

The first thing I will say is that I'm not a huge fan of crude humour. Okay, that's not true, I like it if its done well. however Family Guy is crude simply for the sake of being crude and for pure shock value. Ted has a lot of that as well, particularly the cash register scene. But maybe its because its a teddy bear doing these crude things that they get away with it here, but I never found the crudeness distracting. And in the case of the above mentioned scene, quite hilarious.

A bigger reason I don't like Family Guy is the random "humour" that permeates every episode. They like to thorw random stuff like obscure pop culture references and think its funny. The worst are when they do full song numbers with no comedic basis behind it. Now, random humour CAN be funny, as long as there is a comedic backbone to it. Look at Airplane and Naked Gun for examples. And even Family Guy can sometimes pull this off, like the Kool-Aid man scene from one of the earlier episodes. But often they are just reaching.

This is largely missing from Ted, which I was very happy about. There is still a "random flashback" screen that FG is so famous for, where they actually spoof the above-mentioned Airplane, which works well enough. But for the most part the humour was based more on wit and timing than just throwing stuff in their and hoping people laugh.

Another thing that bugs me is how the Macfarlane shows usually have characters like Brian, a dog who acts like a human. No one around treats him differently or questions the fact that there is a talking dog. But its just a cartoon you say? Yes, but the comedic value of him being a talking dog is lost if he just acts like a person anyways and that fact that he's a talking dog is never touched upon.

Now, konwing the concept of Ted, I was sure this would be the biggest fault of the film. But they surprised me! They actually explained how Ted became a talking teddy bear and described the massive celebrity reaction which occurred from this. They actually explained why people just accept a talking teddy bear walking in their midst! And they actually play upon the fact that he IS a talking teddy bear for comedic value as well! Kudos, writers, kudos.

But the biggest reason I can't stand Family Guy is it has no heart. This is why The Simpsons always has been and will be a better show. Sometimes Family Guy is so aloof I'm disgusted by how much the characters don't care about each other. There is no evidence that Peter and Lois care about each other or their kids. The character's disinterest in each other is supposed to be funny, but its not.

Ted does not have that problem. Even though he's a crude, pot-smoking toy, its still very evident that Ted genuinely cares about John and John genuinely cares about him. And at the center of it all, I think that this is why this movie worked for me.
8/10

[Justin]

Originally Posted by RedVader 2004

Something about a grown man having a buddy teddy bear seems stupid. It looks funny no question but its not something i feel I need to see. I'll save it for a rental down the road likely.

Almost as stupid as a movie based on a toy line or a theme park ride.

[Drizzt240]

Should I watch this or watch DKR for the 5th time? I'm not an unreasonable man, but I am a cheap man.

[shained]

Just got back from this and thought it was hilarious. A shame that about 50% of the jokes were ruined in the trailers but there was enough held back that had me cracking up.

Favourite scenes off the top of my head were Teds interview and the fight scene between the 2 of them and the punching of the child!

There were many, many one liners throughout that had tears of laughter in my eyes. "**** off Susan Boyle" , " I guess we both lost a hairy friend" we're my favourites.

Main issues was that it got over soppy and down for a bit near the very end which as kind of out of place with the rest of the film.

Not as good all round as 21 Jump Street but not that far off.

7/10