Ed's Review Dot Com

Universal Pictures, Media Rights Capital, Fuzzy Door Productions,

Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Warburton, Matt Walsh, Jessica Barth, Aedin Mincks, Bill Smitrovich

John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) was a lonely child who had no friends. None of the kids liked him, so one Christmas this little boy made a big Christmas wish that his favorite teddy bear, Ted (Seth McFarland) would become real and be able to talk to him. Well, it came true, and Ted and John became best friends for life. But just like “Puff, the Magic Dragon” John grew up and found Lori Collins (Mila Kunis) and fell hopelessly in love with her, and though she was very tolerant of John and Ted’s antics, eventually you know it’s going to cause a big problem. Having a stuffed toy for a best friend definitely delayed John’s maturity, but somehow he’s going to have to grow up. This is a buddy picture, but it’s definitely not a kids movie. Ted is one naughty little teddy bear!

This was a very popular film, and I understand that. It’s unique, that’s for sure. Like movies like “The Muppet Movie” where they treat puppets like they are real people, this film just accepts Ted for what he is, a live teddy bear. But it’s probably closer to “Child’s Play” character Chucky than it is to the Muppets. There are several things I really liked about this movie. One has to be the narration which is hysterical. The narrator gets off on a tangent, and says the most unexpected things sometimes, but it’s done in the serious voice that any fairy tale would have. Secondly is the way everyone treats Ted like you would a live teddy bear. He becomes a celebrity for a while, until everyone gets used to him and his 15 minutes is all used up. Ted gets his shot on the Tonight Show, but soon he’s just accepted as normal. This is funny too, as it’s the opposite of how they usually do things in this kind of movie. Remember the classic Warner Brothers cartoon where the guy found a singing frog? Every time someone was around he would stop singing and just sit there and say “Ribbit”. Well, that’s not very realistic. Ted, on the other hand, acts like anyone else would. When young Johnny tells his parents that his bear has come to life, of course they don’t believe him, but Ted steps right out and says hello.

There are some other jewels in this film as well. Patrick Warburton has a role that is really out of character for him and is really funny at several points in the film. He’s John’s co-worker at the rental car place and is a surprising characters. Joel McHale also has a small role that adds a lot to the humor as Lori’s horny boss. Mila Kunis as Lori is also a big add to the movie. I don’t think anyone could have done a better job of playing this character, and she does a really good job!

The key to the humor in this movie is just like Seth MacFarlane’s other work, like Family Guy, where it’s all about saying the most inappropriate things at the most unexpected time. This is definitely all Seth’s movie, and if you’re not the kind to get shocked by a foul mouthed talking teddy bear, but are a fan of his other work, you’re going to enjoy Ted. It definitely is different, but I found out why it was so darn popular. It’s really funny in it’s own unique twisted way.

Here is the red band trailer for “Ted”

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