Ted
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane
Rated: R
Running time: 105 minutes
Well, that was quite the week for adult cinema in North America. On the left, the ladies were popping corks and drinking in the Magic Mike sweat. On the right were the comedy stylings of a horny/stoner/fart joke machine teddy bear. It truly is a Renaissance of cinema.
"Ted" opens with a little boy in '85 wishing for a talking teddy bear and that's exactly what he gets. Forward to 35-year-old man-boy Wahlberg working in a car rental place still with the bear smoking pot, watching cult classic TV and cracking jokes at everything. Then comes the girlfriend of four years, Mila Kunis, who provides the it's-the-bear-or-me plot distraction. From there steps in a villain and I don't mind saying right here and now: Giovanni Ribisi is one of the greatest "creepy villains" of all time. And he's still young; wait 'til he ages that hillbilly creep to Clint's age. It's going to be awesome.
Your enjoyment on this film relies solely of your enjoyment of director/writer/voice Seth MacFarlane. If you liked "Family Guy" when it was good, you'll probably get enough out of this film. If you like "Family Guy" and "American Dad," then it's right up your alley. All others probably don't need to be told to not see a movie advertising a drunken teddy bear urinating on a wall.
And since this review is being written on Canada Day, we'll end with polite yet smug Canadians-do-filthy-stuffed-animal-comedy-better plug for the Canadian classic show "Puppets who kill." Find it, you'll like it.
