REVIEW – ‘Ted’

As a young boy, John had trouble making friends and was forced to find comfort and solace in the company of Ted, a stuffed bear he received as a Christmas gift. John laments the fact that Ted is nothing more than a toy, wishing one night that the bear would come to life – and as Patrick Stewart’s narration reminds us, there’s nothing more powerful than a young boy’s wish (there’s actually an exception to this rule, but I won’t spoil it here).

Now an adult, John (Mark Wahlberg) works a dead-end job at a rental car company, and his childhood companion has aged right along with him. John and Ted (Seth MacFarlane) spend their afternoons on the couch, smoking pot and watching old episodes of Flash Gordon, much to the dismay of John’s girlfriend, Lori (Mila Kunis), who wants nothing more than for John to grow up and move on with his life.

Ted is at its best when MacFarlane and his cast take the humor to extreme levels, such as a shockingly hilarious tryst in the back room of a grocery store and an insane, cocaine-fueled party with some hilarious celebrity cameos. Unfortunately, the film struggles to balance these moments with the more Hollywood-esque elements, such as the pointless love story conflict between John and Lori, and a ridiculous subplot involving a creepy father/son duo that want to purchase Ted.

As the creator of Family Guy, this is MacFarlane’s first foray in the world of live action features, but the influence of his animated roots is evident throughout the film. The character of Ted himself is little more than a crude, sex-obsessed version of Peter Griffin, right down to the east coast accent, and the film has no problem with blatantly pointing out the similarities.

Under most circumstances, Ted would be regarded as a solid first attempt from a new filmmaker, but when compared with MacFarlane’s other work the film comes across as lackluster and disappointing. There are flashes of brilliance, but they’re too few and far between to light up the entire experience.