Ted (2012) - Review

A surprisingly dynamic duo.

Seth McFarlane is a really funny person, but that seems to only sometimes translate to his work.  For instance, Family Guy has both its ups and downs ranging from hilarious to awful, and it's probably the most consistant of his shows.  Yes, the MOST.  American Dad is pretty awful, and the less we say about The Cleveland Show, the better.  But how does his comedy translate to the big screen?  Well... mostly the same, actually.

Let me say this first off:  I liked this movie.  I like it quite a bit actually -- enough to buy it.  But let's also say this, for all the hits it has, it has just as many misses.  That's just how McFarlane's kitchen sink approach rolls.  If you don't like a joke, don't worry, there are like 40 more coming at you.  You'll like some of them at least.

Not pictured: laundry detergent.

There is something to be said about the cast.  Of course McFarlane is in the titular role, and he basically sounds like Peter Griffin.  The character is more vulgar and not quite as dumb as Peter, but for all intents and purposes, you can basically just say he's Peter.  However, the real star of the show is the 'straight(er) man' Mark Wahlberg's John.  Wahlberg was the only good thing about the underwhelming comedy The Other Guys, and he's one of the main reasons this movie works as well as it does.

It's a simple "wish come true" formula seen in lots of 90s movies like Liar Liar, but turned on its head a bit.  So while there's not a lot of ground being broken here, it does what it does and it does it well.  Wahlberg is a big part of that because he simultaneously keeps the film grounded while also being really funny in his own right.  He's actually a pretty great comedic actor.  Who knew?  Aside from that, there's not a lot to say about the film; if you like any of McFarlane's work, then you'll probably like this.  If you like Flash Gordon, you'll probably like this and the zillion references to it made throughout the movie.  Even if you don't like those things, I'd still say give it a rental.  It may be just the buddy comedy that you need.