TED

With Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth McFarlane, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Warburton, Jessica Barth, Aedin Mincks, Sam J. Jones, the voice of Patrick Stewart

Written by Seth McFarlane, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild
Directed by Seth McFarlane

I am in two minds about McFarlane. His adult cartoons Family Guy and American Dad can be hilarious, but it can often go too far (especially when it comes to female and animal abuse). His Cleveland Show is pretty lame, but has its moments, but his Comedy Central Roast hosting stints are good (however hold on to your hats if you watch those – they go beyond below the belt and straight up the uterus!).

Here he makes his feature film directorial debut and the brakes are not exactly being applied. Where his cartoons always include talking animals in a human scenario, here the focal point and title character is a living teddy bear. As a young boy, John wished that his new teddy would come to life and be his best friend forever. His wish comes true and freaks everyone out until it all blows over. Turning into a real set of guys' guys with a taste for booze, pot and women, the crazy adventures of this duo eventually comes to a head. His girlfriend wants to settle down, so an ultimatum has him faced with the decision to get responsible and choose between her or partying with Ted (obviously voiced by McFarlane).

As with Family Guy's endless '80s movie and TV geek / fan references and homages, here one of the focal obsessions is John and Ted's worshiping of the Flash Gordon movie and even features its star Sam Jones. Other cameos include Norah Jones, Ray Romano, Ted Danson and Tom Skerritt as themselves.

This is far-fetched in the sense that people can't exactly complain about the movie's rude and filthy elements, as most of it is committed by a teddy bear for goodness sakes – hardly a believable scenario. But, somehow you manage to look past this silly device and enjoy a crazy ride that actually boils down to the soppy theme of real friendship and the issue of having to grow up.

4 / B
- Paul Blom

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
- A - B - C

A: Multiple Viewing Potential
B: Deserves Another Look
C: Once Should Suffice