Alex Reviews...

Ted

Bit bummed out after the serious-broodiness of The Dark Knight Rises? Your country not doing as well in the Olympics? Generally just a sad, depressing person? Well, for us Brits the new comedy from the genius Seth McFarlane has arrived in cinemas across the country and I finally managed to take a break from my busy schedule flipping between rowing and weightlifting events to give it a look. Is Ted worth the trip or is it all buttons but no stuffing? Did that make sense? I don't think it did...

For those of you who don't know, Seth McFarlane is the mind behind Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show, lending both his humour and his voice to one of the most popular animated shows on television. If you aren't a fan of any of these shows, then you probably won't like Ted. Everything in the film hits the same style of comedy that have made the Griffin family so famous, so if the likes of Peter, Quagmire and Stewie can't produce a chuckle from you then you won't find much to appreciate in this film. If you DO like McFarlane's work, then not only are you officially cool, but you will also love this film about a 35-year old man who lives with his best friend - a stuffed teddy-bear. 

So what makes Ted so great? McFarlane is known for having a creative mind capable of making real characters out of animals and objects that wouldn't normally have the ability to speak - Brian Griffin, Tim the Bear and Klaus the goldfish are all fan favourites. In Ted, the ridiculous character is a teddy bear who starts off cute and, as he gets older, becomes rude and hilarious. But this isn't an animated film, Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis have starring roles, so the real magic is how they are able to get the audience believing that this stuffed toy is actually a character in his own right that can physically interact with the human cast in a very convincing way. The real humour comes from the idea that this cute little bear isn't a cast member from a early-morning children show, but a real adult in a teddy body, with real the real adult views towards the world, drugs, and people around them. This allows some great banter between Ted (McFarlane) and Wahlberg with some classic lines and plenty of dark humour. The plot isn't particularly ground-breaking - you can figure where the film is heading from the start, but there aren't any breaks in humour - it definitely is a laugh a minute, so you will be entertained throughout. Mark Wahlberg proves again that he has a place in comedy films even though his expression always seems slightly concerned with everything around him, Mila Kunis is typically cute and funny, and there a number of well placed cameos to add to the experience. I don't want to ruin anything for you, so I will indicate some of my favourite parts in single word form: hotel, ming, hide-and-seek (shhhh), and weed. And with that selection of random words, you know you're in for a good ride. Or something REALLY disturbing, which I guess also works.