Ted (2012)

Summary: As the result of a childhood wish, John Bennett s teddy bear, Ted, came to life and has been by John s side ever since – a friendship that s tested when Lori, John s girlfriend of four years, wants more from their relationship.

Year: 2012

Australian Cinema Release Date: 5th July, 2012

Australian DVD Release Date: 21st November, 2012

Country: United States

Director: Seth MacFarlane

Screenwriter: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild

Cast: Jessica Barth (Tami-Lynn), Ryan Butcher (Callum Oldfield), Ted Danson (himself), Kristina Ellery (Heavenly), Sarah Fischer (Sauvignon Blanc), Ginger Gonzaga (Gina), Lydia Hannibal (Ellen), Norah Jones (herself), Sam J. Jones (himself), Tm Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants (voice)), Mila Kunis (Lori Collins), Katelyn Lorren (Cherene), Seth MacFarlane (Ted (voice)), Bretton Manley (Young John), Joel McHale (Rex), Ed McMahon (himself), Aedin Mincks (Robert), Melissa Ordway (Michelle), Ryan Reynolds (Jared), Ray Romano (himself), Giovanni Ribisi (Donny), Colton Shires (Teenage John), Tom Skerritt (himself), Bill Smitrovich (Frank), Chanty Sok (Angelique), Patrick Stewart (Narrator), Jessica Stroup (Tracy), Mark Wahlberg (John Bennett), Matt Walsh (Thomas), Laura Vandervoort (Tanya), John Viener (Alix), Patrick Warburton (Guy), Robert Wu (Ming)

Runtime: 106 mins

Classification:MA15+

Dave Griffiths’s ‘Ted’ Review:

When a film has the power to have a whole audience in stitches, reduce three to have asthma attacks and have others laughing so much that they are almost falling into the aisles in stitches you know that you are onto a comedy that achieves its aim. That is exactly what happened at the first screening of Ted in Melbourne.

From the pen of Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane comes Ted the story of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg – Contraband, The Fighter) a man who as a boy wished that his teddy bear, Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane – TV’S Family Guy & The Cleveland Show) could talk.

In a Christmas miracle Ted to begin talk and soon became a celebrity but as the years went by his star begin to fade and he turned into a foul-mouthed, bad tempered teddy bear. Now John is faced with a challenge get rid of his life-long buddy or risk losing his beautiful girlfriend, Lori (Mila Kunis – Friends With Benefits, Black Swan).

Meanwhile Lori’s boss Rex (Joel McHale – TV’S Community, The Big Year) is making a play for Lori while Donny (Giovanni Ribisi – Contraband, The Rum Diary) is hell-bent on stealing Ted for his creepy son.

MacFarlane’s pen takes Ted into all kinds of areas of ‘wrong’ humor yet you can’t help but laughing at all of them – he certainly takes hold of the old saying ‘if you’re going to offend someone, offend everyone’. To be blunt MacFarlane has actually created one of the funniest scripts of all time… it’s crass but still high brow.

Lots of filmmakers have promised that their romantic comedy is going to be a ‘rom com with a difference’ but they nearly always end up following the same formula as all the ones before it, but Ted is the one that bucks that trend. Yes it has a foul-mouthed teddy bear but at the end the day this is a romance that is basically a girlfriend asking a boyfriend to change… but it’s the creative way that MacFarlane does it that makes it a winner.

The other big winners from Ted are Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg. Both continue to show that they have the skills to make a comedy funny while they are brilliantly supported by the likes of Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi and Patrick Warburton (Sophomore, Action Hero) who all benefit from the fact that MacFarlane realizes the importance of support characters. In fact Joel McHale just shows that his comedy timing in the hit television show Community is no fluke… he is certainly one of the comedy finds of this generation.

Ted is a sensational comedy that will have you laughing from start to finish. Just remember if your asthmatic to take along your Ventolin and maybe a sewing kit just in case you found yourself doubled over or in the aisle in stiches. To be blunt Ted is one of the funniest comedies to surface in a long, long time.

Other Subculture Media Reviews of ‘Ted’: http://www.helium.com/items/2343569-movie-reviews-ted-2012.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

IMDB Rating:Ted (2012) on IMDb