Ted Reviews

Note to self: never let a washed-up actor like Sam Jones crash your party. Your life will never be the same!

Ted (Seth MacFarlane) is a work of magic from a boy's wish, the film 'Ted' is a work of comedy from the mind of Seth MacFarlane, the creator of 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad'!

Seth MacFarlane voices the title character Ted, a teddy bear who was bought to life by his owner and best friend John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) as a childhood wish! They grow up together (with Ted receiving some fame) and are pretty immature with Ted often smoking weed! And to mention that illegal drug, this language isn't as poor as the swearing in the film 'Ted'

It's not a kid's movie, don't let the talking teddy bear fool you! The fact that talking animals don't make something kid friendly is already demonstrated on 'Family Guy' with Brian Griffin as the alcoholic talking dog!

Most of the immature stuff John and Ted do is in public and they never get arrested. Ted starts working in a grocery store and has sex on the groceries they sell to the public and he gets promoted! Just the weirdest thing ever! John has to deal with his girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis) and has to kick Ted out the house!

Along with the Oscar nominated song 'Everyone Needs A Best Friend', 'Ted' contains the hilarious thunder song about flipping off and insulting thunder!

There's also a plot of a man Donny (Giovanni Ribisi) and his son Robert (Aedin Mincks) who want to buy Ted from John so that Robert can torture Ted. Eventually they kidnap him and Robert rips his ear off. When playing hide and seek, Ted calls John and John is able to call back from receiving Donny's number earlier! The hilarious fate of Donny is him being arrested and charged with kidnapping a plush toy but the charges are dropped because it sounds too stupid! XD

'Ted' is currently the funniest film of 2012! It's not as funny as 'Borat' or 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' but still hilarious comedy! It comes very close to being a great movie and I really, really like it! The epilogue of the characters made my face hurt from smiling! XD...Ouch!!!

Since I kept hearing some good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out and, eventually, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, in my opinion, it is the best comedy since 'Borat'. To be perfectly honest, most of the time, I'm really critic about comedies. I don’t know, they are usually really stupid and actually not really that funny (the best examples would be 'The Hangover' and 'Bridesmaids' which were both supposed to be great but were eventually just decent at best). Well, this one was fricking hilarious. I mean, honestly, the concept was just really stupid and it should have been a terrible movie but, somehow, it worked really well. The masterstroke was obviously Teddy himself. Basically, all his dialogues were just spot-on and really funny and I also enjoyed a lot his relationship with Mark Wahlberg (maybe it has to do with my massive past as a weed smoker but anyway...). There were some bits here and there that didn’t really work though, especially the whole kidnapping thing involving Giovanni Ribisi which belonged more in a thriller than in a comedy and, to be honest, I thought that Mila Kunis character was slightly a bitch. Indeed, imagine you spend 28 years of your life with your best buddy but you agree at last that he has to move out so you can focus on your relationship, that’s fine, but obviously, afterwards, you would still want to hang out with him which would be quite natural but, in this case, she insists he has to drop him all together. Anyway, those were some minor flaws, I had a blast watching this and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Sometime it is surrealistically stupid and the love story has a lot of cliches. But in his field, if the project is to make laugh, it is a good work! One of the most politically incorrect and funny movies of these years.

Ted is a comedy movie, but what what I feel there is lot of loose language used in the, quite unnecessarily, anyways.

John a lonely child, with no friends, got a stuffed bear from his parents on Christmas eve. Being lonely, he immediately fall in love with this new cute teddy bear, named him Ted. As a result of John childhood wish Ted come to life. John grows along with Ted as his best buddy. Things got twisted when, Lori enters into the life of John and John had to figure out, how to keep balance between Ted & Lori. Another twist at the end is the kidnapping of Ted by Donny for his son. Rescuing Ted has finally led to resolution of John, Lori & Ted problem.

Still maintain, could be a family movie, with kids enjoying a talking Teddy, if the language in movie could be appropriate, but maybe this movie was not produced for that genre :).

This was a very disappointing movie. After seeing all of those people saying it was one of the funniest movies in a long time, I had high expectations for this movie. Being a fan of both Family Guy and American Dad, I felt very confident that this would be a good movie. Boy how wrong I was. I don't know why I didn't expect anything except a long episode of Family Guy but that's all this movie was in the end. The same jokes, the same cut-away style of jokes, the same everything. That would be fine if the movie was entertaining and it just wasn't. The story was terrible. The actor's were not very good and they were obviously mailing it in half the time. There were some decent moments here and there but this movie was very unoriginal and just boring most of the time. I'll stick with MacFarlane's T.V. shows from now on if this is going to be the quality of his movies. ;o

Since it was introduced back in 1999, Seth MacFarlane’s work on animated sitcom Family Guy had progressively risen to worldwide fame and has largely influenced a generation. Whilst continuing with the show in 2011, MacFarlane decided to put his talents to the test, so to speak, as he began production on his feature film directorial debut - Ted. We already knew from the very beginning that it was going to feature the similar comical, vulgar styles of humour and character types from Family Guy. Although Ted may have had a few misses, so to speak, regarding laughs, it still became a successful comedy that is a delight to watch from start to finish and is a solid debut to feature films from Seth MacFarlane.


For Seth MacFarlane to make his directorial debut a success, the only way for it to become just that would be a comedy in similar relation to what created him - Family Guy. First, the sense of humour within Ted can be seen one of two ways: hilarious pieces of comedy or can come across as offensive due to either direct insulting jokes or vulgar language. The majority of those jokes are either not related or are not entirely relevant to what is actually happening within the film. It is simply trying not to run out of steam, so to speak, by keeping the audience interested. Furthermore, MacFarlane used various references from other TV shows and films within the actual plot of the story itself, such as John wishing his teddy bear to come alive and they become friends forever. Although it is recognized as a comedy, it is an equally genuine heartwarmer. MacFarlane teaches us lessons about friendship, love, commitment and about what to do when about to cross the bridge from childhood to adulthood. Therefore, he exposed another professional side to him with these thought-provoking messages.


Throughout his career, Mark Wahlberg has taken the roles in films particularly part of the action and sport genres. However, like MacFarlane and making his feature film debut, Wahlberg stars in a comedy portraying the vulnerable and occasionally, immature protagonist John Bennett. We have seen this type of character over and over again as it is a man acting like a young boy, but at the same time, he was someone that became rather new to the screen (struggles to become a man due to childhood memories and influences). Having said that most of the comedy contained references from previous sources of television and film, the characters were a part of that too. For example, John making an evening wish that his favourite toy would come alive and did so revolutionized the story of Pinocchio and Geppetto making his wish. Nevertheless, Wahlberg provided us with a rather special performance as he gave us various understandings of the traditional behaviour during childhood, adolescence and adulthood with one single character in an individual film.


Mila Kunis, who ironically portrayed Meg Griffin in Family Guy returns to work with Seth MacFarlane but in a more leading role and where we actually see her perform as opposed to just hearing. She portrayed John’s girlfriend Lori Collins, who is the only one of the three primary characters who gives the film a natural, humane and more serious tone to it. She also sold the comedy scenes rather well and as a result, performed at a higher standard than the rest of the cast. Now what we’ve all being waiting for – Seth MacFarlane’s both hilariously daft and emotional role as Ted. This character can be seen in many ways such as a relation to the alien Paul in the title film and various characters from Family Guy. In fact, Ted is practically Peter Griffin in the form of a teddy bear. To take away the innocence within the protagonist’s childhood memory is usually a very sensitive and, at times, controversial issue, but MacFarlane marvellously executed it very emotionally and still provided us with a likeable, personal bond with a message. In addition to providing the voice of Ted, he performed the motion-capture of the character that resulted in outstanding effects that is, quite frankly, hard to identify between a CGI teddy bear and a real one. Although we had three genuinely touching and funny protagonists, the only issue, story-wise, that did not quite seem in its place with the remainder of the film was the subplot featuring the primary antagonist Donny (portrayed by Giovanni Ribisi) and his son Robert (Aiden Mincks). It was just pushed in and did not really feel necessary. Finally, Patrick Stewart provided the voice of the narrator and Sam Jones made an appearance too as himself.


Overall, Ted is a comedy that will either leave people laughing from start to finish or will simply become a very insulting feature to sensitive viewers due to the jokes. Therefore, it is perhaps preferable if one is a fan of Seth MacFarlane and his work, particularly Family Guy. Although the humour can go either way, MacFarlane still generated the emotional heartwarming drama into the film. Furthermore, Ted may be a fantasy film but MacFarlane successfully grasped the realism of a completely fictional film into a delightful comedy-drama. Lastly, Ted features a genuinely creative screenplay that is one of the best in recent memory within its genre and it is a solid debut from Seth MacFarlane that proves he is capable of providing us with more hits in the future.

"Thunder buddies for life, right, Johnny?"

Ted is the feature film debut of writer/director/star Seth MacFarlane, who's best known for his hit television show Family Guy. It's hardly surprising, then, that the film bears a notable resemblance to the long-running cartoon series, as MacFarlane retains his proclivity for toilet humour, non-sequiturs, one-liners, obscure movie references and pop culture shout-outs. Luckily, Ted is also sharper and wittier than most recent Family Guy episodes, resulting in a comedy that is, for lack of a better word, fucking hilarious. Furthermore, the film is based around an inventive central premise. Calling upon his incisive writing instincts, MacFarlane here deconstructs one of the most tiresome comedy plots of recent years - the "decent young guy held back from maturity by a churlish best friend or a cherished toy from his childhood" plot - by taking it to its logical symbolic extreme: the boorish best friend is actually the beloved childhood toy. By doing this, MacFarlane snarkily addresses the "what happens next?" question of every "boy and his magical buddy" movie ranging from E.T. to Pete's Dragon.

A shy 8-year-old social outcast, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) makes a Christmas wish that his teddy bear would come alive so they can be real friends forever. Sure enough, the magic of the cosmos pulls through, and John awakens the following morning to find that his bear, Ted (MacFarlane), has become a living, speaking being. The talking teddy bear becomes a short-lived celebrity, but through it all, John and Ted vow to remain best friends forever. Fast forward to the present day, however, and the pair are going nowhere fast, spending their days smoking pot and watching TV. While Ted is scraping by just fine, John desperately needs to get his life in order and grow up, as his long-term girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis) is getting fed up with his crap. Faced with an ultimatum from Lori, John urges Ted to move out and start living his own life, but the friendship is hard to break, and John is left choosing between his beloved teddy bear and the woman he loves.

Beneath Ted's routine of lowbrow gags, there's unexpected intelligence and thoughtfulness which places this above less skilful comedies. The story predominantly concerns John's maturation, and the commentary on the realities of growing up is surprisingly poignant. Admittedly, though, Ted does contain a few narrative elements that feel too standard-order. The script is formulaic to extremes, and you will probably be able to guess everything that happens throughout the film. Yet, the film actually gels far better than it had any right to because it's so genuinely side-splitting. Likewise, the film has a tendency to be cheesy (especially the ending), and there's a running subplot about a creepy fan who wants to kidnap Ted which seems to have been shoehorned into the script to allow for a big finale. But in MacFarlane's hands, everything comes together beautifully. It's the execution that matters when it comes to this type of film, and, thankfully, with the original device of an alive teddy bear combined with the witty writing and energetic direction, Ted just plain works. Better yet, there's genuine sweetness here to supplement the laughs.

Those who hate Family Guy, or Seth MacFarlane's humour in general, will probably hate Ted just as much since the comedic styles are similar. But fans of MacFarlane's humour will have an utter ball with this picture. And commendably, the laughs go beyond the one-note gag of seeing a foul-mouthed teddy bear doing things that he just shouldn't be doing. As a matter of fact, the script (by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild) is very witty, with obscure pop culture references, blue-collar bar-room humour, and even a party spotlighting a surprise cameo (from a laudably game actor) that should have viewers absolutely wetting their pants. It's also important to note that the jokes work so well not just because they're vulgar but also because of the immaculate timing and delivery. There are a lot of lowbrow laughs here, sure, and thus your liking of Ted is definitely dependent on your taste for comedy, but the film undoubtedly worked for this reviewer.

It helps that Ted is such a terrific character. Seriously, he's one of the greatest movie characters of 2012. Played by MacFarlane through motion capture, the special effects are solid here; not exactly photorealistic, but nevertheless expressionistic and believable. Ted also fully interacts with various environments in different types of lighting to amazing effect. Ted never looks cheap or phoney, nor does he ever stand out as anything other than part of this world. Like last year's Paul, you soon accept and believe the character as real rather than just a digital creation. Injecting personality into a CGI teddy bear is no mean feat, yet MacFarlane pulled it off. Furthermore, you can believe Ted's friendship with John. Ted is a fantasy, but MacFarlane makes us believe this fantastical story, which makes the characters more relatable and the story more engaging.

At first glance, it may seem like Seth MacFarlane just recycled his Peter Griffin voice for Ted, but the talented voice actor actually created a new voice with a Boston tinge (whereas Peter was distinctly New England). It's an engaging vocal performance with spot-on comedic delivery, and it's hard to imagine anyone else playing this role. Alongside him, Mark Wahlberg is extremely well-used as straight man John. He's completely believable and likeable, and, crucially, whenever he shares scenes with Ted, it never seems like he's interacting with something that's not actually there. (A punch-up between Ted and John is a particular success in this respect.) Meanwhile, Mila Kunis was saddled with the clichéd role of a frustrated girlfriend, yet she transcends the material due to the level-headedness she displays, not to mention her inherent likeability as an actress. There are a range of colourful supporting performances here, not to mention several celebrity cameos that this reviewer simply cannot spoil, and suffice it to say everyone hit their marks beautifully. Patrick Stewart even narrates the whole thing, which lends a bit of gravitas to the proceedings.

While cynical filmgoers may mark Ted down for being predictable and generic, the fact is that this is a comedy that aspires to make you laugh, and it is funny as hell. That's no small achievement. It won't change your life, but it's a wonderful, well-told comedy that wholly satisfied this reviewer, not to mention it's more heartfelt than Family Guy has ever been. And, like all of the best comedies in history, it contains countless insanely quotable lines of dialogue. Ted is an instant classic, pure and simple.

8.3/10