Ted

Logline: As the result of a childhood wish, John Bennett's teddy bear, Ted, came to life and has been by John's side ever since - a friendship that's tested when Lori, John's girlfriend of four years, wants more from their relationship.

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Giovanni Ribisi

Directed by:  Seth MacFarlane

I saw this one a little while back just after The Amazing Spiderman came out. I wasn't sure what to think going into the theatre. IMDB had this rated at 7.7, Rotten Tomatoes at 68%, and a ton of people told me that it was a MUST watch. I'll admit, I really don't care for Seth MacFarlane. I don't like Family Guy and I've never liked his stand up routines. I find other comedians to be leaps and bounds ahead of him. Like I've stated before and will state again - comedy is purely preference, but reviewing this movie without touching on its comedy would be completely pointless. I'll try to touch on mostly story, which may make this review short, but here we go anyway...

Summary

John Bennett is a kid with no friends who, one Christmas, wishes his toy teddy bear would come to life and be his friend forever. He wakes up the next morning to see that his wish has come true... Fast-forward to when John is an adult and the craze around a real life talking teddy bear has died down considerably. John now has a girlfriend and must choose her relationship as a priority over his friendship with Ted - something he has never ever had to do in the past. Doing so becomes difficult and John struggles maintaining the balance between the two.

Review

This was a romantic comedy with the comic relief provided by a teddy bear. Everything about John and his girlfriend Lori's relationship is 100% been there, done that, nothing new to say about it. Except, we get to see Mila Kunis quite a lot in this movie, which is never a bad thing. That being said, the movie kind of works. How does a completely formulaic plot ever work? Well, this is my topic of the day...

Topic of the Day

I actually have two points.

1) To make a formulaic plot work, you need to twist it in your own way to make it unique. MacFarlane does just this - and he does it by creating a teddy bear that smokes pot, drinks, and hooks up with women. One of the keys to creative writing is taking 2 completely separate things, combining them, and making it work. A child sleeps with a teddy bear; it's an icon of innocence. Make that innocent icon do naughty things and it can open up a world of imagination and uniqueness.

2) Creating the perfect atmosphere to make the story seem real. It's weird isn't it? Me calling a story about a walking talking teddy bear real? I sat there the whole time and never thought to myself that this was over the top stupid. MacFarlane kept his film in control. He found the perfect medium between over the top & not enough - and he rode this medium all the way to the finish line. The absurdity of a teddy bear coming to life is a lot to take in. The fact that he smokes pot, drinks, etc. is enough out of the ordinary. Any more and the plot would have been bloated, disrupting the balance of the movie. Instead he focuses on balancing the two relationships and the conflicts involved in doing so as John tries to please both sides equally. John and Lori provide the rom, the bear provides the com.

Consensus

I didn't dive into the comedy aspect of Ted. I hate critiquing comedy as what I find funny, others may not, and vice versa. I particularly loved the cashier scene while Ted is bored at work and I loved the fight scene at the end. People who love Family Guy will have a ton of laughs, and even people that don't may as well.

I haven't been a fan of Seth MacFarlane in the past, but his directorial debut has opened my eyes to a Seth I never knew existed. I hope he continues his entries on the big screen if they're anything like this one. I think it can only get better with more practice.

This film fits somewhere in between worth the watch and well done - leaning towards well done though. 

6.7/10