In the last few years Seth MacFarlane has taken over the animated comedy world. Starting with FAMILY GUY, he has basically taken over Sunday night programming on Fox and two hours every night of Cartoon Network with his other shows AMERICAN DAD and THE CLEVELAND SHOW. I’m not complaining though because I enjoy his shows for their absurd cutaways and the raunchy, politically incorrect humor. But I also admire that he isn’t afraid to make fun of society and make you laugh at yourself while saying “Hey you know you’re wrong for thinking that.” Having already conquered TV he’s now set his sights on the world of film and he brings a lot of those same elements to his directorial debut TED and the result is a funny, touching buddy comedy.
Telling a story that is shot a lot like a kid’s Christmas movie, it aptly starts one Christmas day in Boston when a lonely little boy, John Bennett, gets a new stuffed bear he names Ted and wishes that he were real so they can be best friends forever. A Christmas miracle occurs when Ted comes to life the next morning and John and Ted become the bestest of friends. Twenty seven years later John (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (Seth MacFarlane) are still BFFs but neither has really grown up. John works a low level job at a car rental agency, getting high and drinking with Ted every day but he has managed to have a strong four year relationship with his girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis). Lori gets along well with John and Ted but she wants John to grow up and the first step is to cut the cord with Ted, starting with Ted moving out of their apartment.
As expected, TED is brimming with offensive and snark filled jokes but it’s just nonstop in the movie. Now that he’s not held back by the FCC MacFarlane lets loose and no subject is sacred. There are cracks about rappers, ugly Boston chicks, Jews, child molestation, really anything pop culture related and it’s hilarious. And the jokes aren’t given conventional set ups where there’s a lot of build up to lead to the punch line. Most of the jokes are made from awesome one-liners that are delivered nonchalantly. One of my favorite jokes was a bit of racial humor John slips in about an expensive bottle of champagne he orders of Lori at their anniversary dinner.
But with such raunchy humor it's sometimes easy to forget that MacFarlane is also capable of creating heartfelt moments and teach a lesson or two. With TED he's both buying into the stoner man-child that movies like STEP BROTHERS or any Adam Sandler one portrays while also telling them they need to grow up. John is very much a little boy inside of a 35 year old's body, carrying around a certain wide eyed innocence and naïveté, doing just enough to get by while bums with his best friend. His long term girlfriend, Lori, wants more of him and asks him to let go of his childish ways, to man up and get serious about moving on to the next phase of life. What's interesting about John is that he really is mature on the inside because he doesn't balk at the idea of having Ted move out. Even though Ted and John have a great relationship, John recognizes that he does want more with Lori and is prepared to make the effort for her. So he’s not just a little boy in a man’s body. There is a grown up in there and he realizes that at some point we almost must grow up. Ted also clings to their adolescent behavior but he too is able to accept and recognize that John needs to grow up, as well as himself. It’s in that realization that MacFarlane shows that we all need to let go at times and that friends can support each other in moving on with their lives without hurting their friendship.
Keeping it in the family, TED features great performances from several actors in MacFarlane’s other shows. Mila Kunis plays Lori as a sympathetic girlfriend rather than the bitchy one you hate. She's just as silly and immature as John and Ted but you can also see where she's coming from when she asks John for more so her request isn’t too unreasonable. Patrick Warburton is hilarious as one of John's co-workers who constantly dials a guy in the middle of the night to beat him up and might also be gay. Patrick Stewart provides a funny narration in the film's opening. MacFarlane gives Ted his best Peter-Griffin-but-I’m-not-Peter-Griffin voice and the CGI used to bring Ted alive was very well done. Ted really feels like he’s interacting with the environment, whether he’s hanging on the couch with some hookers or beating the ever-loving shit out of John. It never feels like the actors are interacting with someone that isn't there. Even as Ted gets older you can see the wear and tear on his body that adds to his authenticity.
There are also some great cameos by some long forgotten actors and musicians that made me question what they were doing in a movie like TED but then again MacFarlane is the king of throwbacks and I’m not surprised he could bring certain people together in a movie. And although Wahlberg isn’t a frequent MacFarlane collaborator, he’s not bad at comedy and it was nice to see him step outside of his macho tough guy comfort zone and play a sweet, dopey guy.
For a directorial debut, TED is a pretty funny and original movie. It starts to run out of gas in the third act when Ted's über-creepy stalker gets brought back in after being pretty much forgotten from the story, but for a majority of its run time MacFarlane lives up to his reputation by bringing a lot of laughs and potty humor while also offering up a good deal of heart as well.
