Saturday, June 30, 2012

Ted




Seth MacFarlane's first feature film Ted is smart and observant in the same way that his Family Guy and American Dad have been. Of course, Ted is much more vulgar than either of those cartoon series and packs a heavier dose of cultural cynicism -- if you can imagine that. This tale of a 30-something emotionally under-developed, pothead rental car dealer (Mark Wahlberg) and his wishfulfillment talking/cursing/farting/sexing stuffed bear (voiced by MacFarlane) doesn't have a whit of subtlety or nuance though its pop culture references and cameo appearance (Sam Jones, Norah Jones, Tom Skerrit) add a shimmer of sophistication to the raucous proceedings. The movie is funnier than not and Mila Kunis gets lovelier by the minute (IMO). If I were to boil the movie's formula down it would be Talking Bear + Hootie and the Blowfish Karaoke = Laugh Riot.
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