Review by Matt Finley
TED was Seth MacFarlane’s last
chance to win me over. I won’t say I don’t respect the man –
he’s a hard worker who has managed to build himself a cozy
primetime empire out of nothing but some college animations and a
handful of low-hanging pop culture references – but I’ve never
been partial to his work. Still, whether or not I enjoy Family
Guy or its even less palatable sister programs, I was hoping
MacFarlane would avail himself of the silver screen’s
expansive diameter and muster something of broader topical scope –
perhaps even richer artistic depth – than the Griffins’
interminable, chaotic rabble of celebrity pot shots,
insipid film homages and quotidian obscenities.
It was his last chance, and he failed.
With soaring, stratosphere-breaching colors.
The trailer pretty much says it all:
John Bennett, an awkward 8-year-old loner magically wishes his plush
bear, Teddy, to life. 25 years later, the two inseparable friends
remain locked in a state of adolescent immaturity, spending their
days drinking, smoking weed and watching the films of their shared
childhood, as John’s (Mark Wahlberg) increasingly impatient
girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis) begs him to ditch Ted (voiced by
Macfarlane) and move on with his life.
