“Ted” is the funniest freakin' fairy tale ever stitched together out of stuffing and swearing.
If you assumed that the first feature-length film from “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane would be audaciously offensive, you would still be underestimating the extent of its poor taste. You would likely also be underestimating the extent of the hilarity that ensues as a result, as the crass comedy stimulates some of the largest laughs you will have in a movie theater this year.
In “Ted,” which opens today at movie theaters throughout the Valley, Mark Wahlberg plays a grown man who must deal with the cherished teddy bear (MacFarlane) who came to life as the result of a childhood wish and has refused to leave his side ever since. Mila Kunis, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Warburton and Joel McHale also starOf course, the running joke in “Ted” is that the bear goes from being a boy's best friend to being a man's foul-mouthed, beer-drinking, pot-smoking, sex-craved buddy. And that is funny in and of itself. However, the thing that elevates the crass comedy to a whole new level is MacFarlane's witty writing. Whether he is dissing a celebrity or an entire race of people, MacFarlane gets gut-busting laughs.
Having said that, “Ted” drags a little when MacFarlane is forced to put the shameless shenanigans on the back-burner and instead focus on the film's story. Then again, said story is surprisingly heartfelt and even bares a striking resemblance to those found in family flicks of the 1980's. However, when all is said and done, this movie is all about the humor. And it has got that in spades.
