After two months of fairly solid action movies (okay, so two months of "The Avengers" and...everything else), it's about time for the other staple of Summer Movie Season -- the R-rated comedy. Don't believe me? "The Hangover" (2009), "The Hangover Part 2", "Bridesmaids", and "Bad Teacher" (2011) all have had exquisite success during the Summer season.
"Ted" manages to do what "The Dictator" and "That's My Boy" failed to do earlier in the year and fill the void simply being original.
It's a story as old as time. Little John Bennett, having no friends of his own, gets a large plush bear John names Teddy and instantly becomes his best friend. After wishing Teddy could really talk, in classic 80s movie tradition, Teddy comes to life!
Here's where it gets interesting...we see what happens when both John (played by Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) grow up. John, now 35, has a great girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis) while Ted lives with them, freeloading, smoking weed, guzzling beer, and ordering hookers while John and Lori are out. Fed up with Ted's shenanigans, Lori gives John an ultimatum -- either her or Ted.
From the brilliant of "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane comes "Ted". MacFarlane, who directed this movie from a script he co-wrote with fellow "Family Guy" scribes Alec Sulkin and Wesley Wild, makes an acerbic, crass, and surprisingly intelligent movie about a talking stuffed animal that quickly turns into a movie about friendship and maturity. I know maturity is never the word you think about when you think about "Family Guy", but this is lightyears ahead of where "Family Guy" is.
Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis are wonderful together on screen. Wahlberg has completely found his calling as a comedy actor, and Mila Kunis shines like she does in everything. And with Kunis comes many of the other "Family Guy" cast members with her -- Patrick Warburton, Alex Borstein, and Mike Henry all have minor roles here. But how can you ignore Seth MacFarlane as Ted? Foul-mouthed, sexually extroverted, and perpetually stoned or drunk, Ted is fluffy little nightmare that will go straight to your heart.
"Ted" is not only hilarious (by far the funniest movie of the year), but poignant and heartfelt -- something that you would never expect from the trailers. Perfectly narrated by Patrick Stewart (yes...THAT Patrick Stewart), skewering many celebrities we either love or hate (or love to hate), and making you laugh until you hurt, "Ted" is the comedy this year has desperately needed.
Oh yeah, and if you're a parent and take your 9-year old to see this, you're an awful person. Period.
FINAL VERDICT: Fan of "Family Guy" or not, "Ted" is Seth MacFarlane's finest hour by far. Funny and poignant, crude and romantic, the movie will make you laugh, touch your heart, and give you something to laugh about long after the credits have rolled.
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