Ted (2012)

Directed by Seth MacFarlane. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel McHale, Patrick Warburton, Laura Vandervoort, Matt Walsh, Jessica Barth, Aedin Mincks, Bill Smitrovich, Sam J. Jones, (voices) Seth MacFarlane, Patrick Stewart. [R]

Turns out that sometimes wishes do come true when an eight-year-old Bostonite wishes that his teddy bear (named Ted) would come to life, which it promptly does. Fast-forward a few decades and the now-grown boy (Wahlberg) and bear are still best buds, living the life of a couple of crude, lazy stoner slobs, much to the chagrin of the fella’s unusually patient and supportive girlfriend (Kunis). Feature debut for writer/director/producer MacFarlane—also the voice of Ted—takes a one-joke concept and stretches it about as far as it can go while managing to tickle the funny bone consistently enough for a raucous good time. The pace may be slack and some of the jokes clank hard, but the familiar plot elements are given a substantial jolt by the choice one-liners, zippy pop culture references, and general outrageousness (where else are you going to find Flash Gordon throwing an Asian man around an apartment while a sentient plush toy grapples with an angry duck?). Only truly falters during the final act when the sub-plot with Ribisi’s creepy stalker takes over…but then it lands a few hilarious (and sometimes tasteless) jokes just before the credits roll. Credit due the special effects team: the motion-capture graphics are so seamless that it’s very easy to forget that Ted isn’t a real “person”! Cameos include Tom Skerritt and Norah Jones.

70/100