Ted.

LoveFilm? Two movies sitting on the table right now. Limitless, that Bradley Cooper one I’m actually quite intrigued by. And Javier Bardem in Biutiful. A brilliant actor in what is meant to be a brilliant film. Time will tell.

Spotify? ‘Parklife’ by Blur. Nuff said.

Amazon? Still reading Anne Of Green Gables. It’s very much a book for girls, but still quite engaging. I don’t hate it, which is a positive.

***

Family Guy is like Marmite, it seems. People either absolutely hate it with a passion, or they’re obsessive fans who would worship Peter Griffin if it was socially acceptable. I love the show – I’m not a freckled fanboy, but I do think its genius writing. Naturally then, I had to go and see Ted. Seth McFarlane’s first-ever live action feature film? Fuck yeah, I had to go and see it. But it wasn’t just the appreciation for McFarlane that brought me to the cinema. It was the intrigue of seeing if he could emulate animated success on a larger scale.

Better tell you what it’s about first, though. When ten year-old Johnny wishes that his teddy bear was real, it actually happens and the two become inseparable best friends. Now aged 35, Johnny (Mark Wahlberg) is still best friends with Ted, but it begins to cause problems for his relationship with Lori (Mila Kunis). It comes down to a simple choice – the girlfriend or the teddy bear. Oh, and there’s a bad guy too, which I’ll get to later.

  

Ted is made in exactly the same way McFarlane writes all of his animated shows – the humour is controversial, crass, vulgar and laugh-out-loud funny at times. There are cutaways of the sort you would see in Family Guy. And, in the character of Ted, you have another Peter Griffin. The formula hasn’t really been tampered with too much. That could so easily have been a massive mistake but, lo and behold, it wasn’t! The film is shamelessly offensive throughout, and really bloody funny because of it. Ted is a hilarious character; close your eyes and you’d think it was Peter Griffin talking, that’s how similar they are. That was a mistake, I think, but McFarlane does manage to give Ted much more heart and soul; an achievement, considering we’re talking about a pot-smoking alcoholic teddy bear.

Where the film fucks up is the final third. Yes, it’s an offensive comedy, but you also have a film that is about romance and friendship and the choices people are forced to make. So why on earth are we suddenly thrown into a high-speed car chase and action sequence? The whole tone of the movie shifts suddenly, and not in a good way. I get that they needed to have a dramatic moment, but it could have been done in such a better way. But in doing it this way, they spoil the movie’s tone and waste a very talented Giovanni Ribisi, playing the villain.

What Seth McFarlane really needs to be applauded for is Mark Wahlberg. I used to hate Wahlberg, my opinion of him being that he was just a poor man’s Matt Damon. Looks a bit like Damon, talks a bit like Damon, but can’t act like Damon. But, dammit, he’s starting to make me change my mind. Amazing performances in The Departed and The Fighter, as well as a change of pace in films like The Other Guys have made him much better. And now, he gives what I think is the best comic performance of his career. I didn’t know he had it in him, but he’s fantastic.

The supporting cast is solid, they get the job done without being amazingly spectacular. Mila Kunis has great comic timing, and looks bloody hot throughout. You also get cameos from other Family Guy regulars, which is nice. But it’s the unexpected cameos in the film that are a treat. I’ll only tell you about one: Sam Jones (who played Flash Gordon back in the day). Jones has a small, but really funny sequence in the movie. It’s so random, but works so well. The other cameos, you can see for yourself. Like I said before, Ribisi is so wasted. I’m a big Ribisi fan, and he is very funny in the few scenes he’s in, but such a waste. Look out for his dance performance, it’s hilarious.

Ted is so similar in style to Family Guy that it could have been a massive failure; instead, McFarlane has managed to successfully translate his skills to the big screen. Despite its flaws, this is still probably one of the best comedies of the year so far. It does bear noting, however, that he still does rely on animation (okay, CGI, but its close) and suspension of disbelief here, like he does in his cartoons. The next challenge, and what I really want to see, is what he can do with a film that has none of that.

***

I talk on Twitter sometimes - @writeofcentre – about things. Stuff like this:

DVD REVIEW Carnage: A masterclass in acting with Jodie Foster as the big standout for me. Nice to see Polanksi still in good form. Loved it.

DVD REVIEW Wild At Heart: A surreal movie that could only have come from David Lynch. The two leads are superb, Dern just as good as Cage.

DVD REVIEW The Inbetweeners Movie: A genuinely laugh-out-loud film, I was very pleasantly surprised. A fittingly grand end to a good sitcom.

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