"Ted" has the makings of an extremely appealing movie: Mark Wahlberg for the ladies, Mila Kunis for the men, and Seth MacFarlane for the immature 7-year old in everyone. Unfortunately the combination process must have gotten muddled at some point as the result falls short, leaving much to be criticized.
Don't get me wrong; "Ted" is a decent movie. If you are at all enticed by the previews you will most likely enjoy it. Although marketed as a raunchy comedy, there actually is a delicate love story and moral on growing up beneath its comical exterior. Yet the word I overheard leaving the theater that I thought fit the best was "sappy." Be prepared for a lot of Kunis complaining about her relationship, a drawn-out, fairly predictable ending, and two hours of Wahlberg's unconvincing Boston accent.
Fans of MacFarlane's cartoons may feel jerked around a bit, as the movie does not have his joke-a-minute driving force behind it. Instead viewers are given more-than-adequate breaks from their fits of laughter. Several cameos attempt to spice things up, but it's a coin flip on whether you'll recognize them (and another flip on whether you'll care). Still, it's hard not to chuckle at some of the drug-fueled antics a dirty-minded Teddy bear can get himself into. Patrick Warburton, whose voice you'll recognize as Joe from Family Guy, manages to steal the show with only a half-dozen lines.
"Ted" currently has a 69 precent rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes' "Tomatometer," yet an 88 percent rating from audience members, which is a substantial difference. This could be because the movie's target audience is more concerned about how many fart jokes they can pack into two hours than anything else.
Yet as the entertainment industry has proven countless times before, a movie need not be quality to be successful. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.
MacFarlane currently owns Sunday primetime television with three hit cartoons to his name.However, reception of all three as of late has wavered, proving that he certainly doesn't have America eating out of his palm, as one could argue he did when "Family Guy" was in its third or fourth season. However, as I said before, I did enjoy "Ted" and while I feel it may not have lived up to its full potential, the fact that this is MacFarlane's first branch in to feature films gets me optimistic about what he has in store for the entertainment world.
(Three out of five stars)
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