Ted (dir. Seth MacFarlane, 2012) – John’s Christmas wish comes true as his teddy bear comes to life. But we all have to grow up someday.
Verdict
The endearing teddy bear invites a smile with his raunchy humour. But in weeks, he would likely be no more than a fuzzy memory.
Review
An enduring comedy is hard to come by. Writers often take the easy way out with formulaic plots and lowbrow crude humour. Toilet is the lowest form of humour, a bold line drawn at continuous fart gags. Ted brings a good number of those in Seth MacFarlane’s comedic repertoire, much to the delight of his fans and disappointment of others.
Echoing (and sometimes directly lifting from) his unending creation Family Guy, the unlikely buddy movie is chock full of hit-and-miss jokes. Some of them are designed to offend, others simply failed to work.
At least, pop culture references make for fun distractions, with a few surprising cameos thrown in. Mid-way, Flash Gordon joins the party and drives the senseless plot, because… why the hell not?
Ted ultimately does not promise anything new besides a convincing, pot-smoking teddy bear. Praise the wonders of motion capture, if nothing else. While the vulgar bear’s appearance will still endear him to most of us, his dull story amounts to nothing more than a series of bland romance tropes.
