Ted (2012)

Ted (2012)

5/10

Starring

Mark Wahlberg
Mila Kunis
Seth MacFarlane

Directed by Seth MacFarlane

Other than the occasional laughs, you are not missing anything if you skip watching this in the cinema, because the movie has an uneven pacing, which made some moments seem like a drag.

Seth MacFarlane, who is the creator of Family Guy, wrote and directed the movie. This is his directorial debut, and I may not be watching his second work. I am not a huge fan of Family Guy, the whole idea baffles me. But no matter, I see Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis and just expect to have a good time, which I didn’t.

Wahlberg and Kunis had great on-screen chemistry, they gelled together and were the best thing to watch. The movie dragged with profanity and too many sexual references. I just kept waiting for something to happen as each scene dragged, and I wished I could skip ahead.

The computer animation was handled by visual effects facility Tippett Studio (responsible for the old Robocop series and more recently The Smurfs). MacFarlane wrote the screenplay with his Family Guy colleagues Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, and they must have thought they were writing for a cartoon, because some events were totally ridiculous. A teddy bear and sex, that is loony, perverted and ridiculous in so many ways.

The plot is simple: as the result of a childhood wish, John Bennett's (Mark Wahlberg) teddy bear, Ted, came to life. As John grew, so did the bear, in attitude, voice and reason. But things started to change when Lori (Mila Kunis) comes into the picture. John has to grow up, but Ted keeps him grounded.

Acting by the leads is an A+ from me. I was actually impressed by Mark Wahlberg, not saying he is bad at what he does, just saying I was impressed. Directing and screenplay, D-. Some scenes were just too dull for me.

Wahlberg was in Contraband and The Fighter (with Christian Bale) before this movie. I was not too much of a fan of Contraband, but The Fighter was just legendary to watch. Mila Kunis was also in Max Payne with Wahlberg. Mila jumped at me from the movie The Book of Eli and later Black Swan. I see her growing to be a regular on the silver screen.

Well, Ted is a movie everyone wants to see. Some loved it, a few didn’t. I am of the few. Maybe you go see it yourself and let me know what you think.