At the Theater - Ted - This oft-raunchy tale of a living, breathing, dope-smoking, foul-mouthed Teddy bear wished into existence by his young BFFL (the adult version played by Mark Wahlberg) falls somewhere between good and very good. Perhaps I saw one too many "Red Band" (R-Rated, Uncut) clips on the internet before actually seeing the movie- the fewer of those that others have seen, the "fresher" the crude-humored material and overall experience will be. It has a host of solid chuckles, though none of which I would call flat-out "gut-busters" (it would have to be something legendary to bust my gut).
Most of those individuals considerably younger than myself will feel that the film is highlighted by the unabashed antics and dialogue of the CG-rendered titular character, voiced by Writer/Director Seth McFarlane (creator of Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show), though I was far more pleased with a plethora of early 1980's Pop Culture references and several, unexpected, home-run worthy cameos. The 1980 film Flash Gordon (it's so bad it's good) plays an important role in the story line, complete with a few very cool appearances by Sam J. Jones- I was grinning from ear to ear. Fans of Vocalist/Musician Norah Jones are also in for a rather special treat...
There's another couple of cameos therein that I won't bother to spoil- have fun with that, yourself.
Mark Wahlberg continues to surprise as far as his comedic forays are concerned- I've never been overly impressed with his more serious roles, but he's fairly solid here with some spurts of excellent comedic timing. Mila Kunis continues to shine and is as sexy as ever- she's one of the more talented young actresses and appears game for almost anything. Patrick Warburton shows up a couple of times as one of Wahlberg's co-workers, while Joel McHale makes a few appearances as Kunis's lecherous boss. Bill Smitrovich (Life Goes On) and Matt Walsh (HBO's Veep) round out the familiar faces while Patrick Stewart chimes in periodically as the story's narrator.
Complaints; The third act is weighed down by the familiar pangs of formulaic melodrama and an uneven sub-plot involving a fanatical Father/Son duo (Giovanni Ribisi is the Father) out to snatch Ted- it's not enough to derail the movie, though it clearly sucks a little life from it (I once started to tear up over a volleyball- not here...). McFarlane will probably have plenty more to say in the very near future as a Writer and Director of feature films- he'll have to stray a bit from the fart/feces gag humor to show some lasting, quality talent (a couple of "comedic" references to Lou Gehrig's disease were unnecessary and in just plain 'ol poor taste).
That there's no Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler in sight with this particular entry is a minor victory in itself...
It's worthwhile, but nowhere near any of my Comedy favorites. Check it out with a few friends.
(Rated R for Language, Nudity and Drug Usage)
8.0 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment