Ted (1 & 2)
TED (15)
D: Seth MacFarlane
Universal/Media Rights Capital/Bluegrass (Scott Stuber,
Seth MacFarlane, John Jacobs & Jason Clark)
US 2012
102 mins
Comedy
W: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin & Wellesley
Wald
DP: Michael Barrett
Ed: Jeff Freeman
Mus: Walter Murphy
Mark Wahlberg (John Bennett), Mila Kunis (Lori Collins)
Seth MacFarlane (voice of Ted), Joel McHale (Rex), Giovanni Ribisi (Donny)
As a child, John Bennett made a Christmas wish that
brought his teddy bear to life and the two grow up together as the best of friends. In adulthood, John must choose between getting stoned and watching movies with his fuzzy buddy or settling
down with his girlfriend.
If you watch either Family Guy or American Dad, you really
should know what to expect from Seth MacFarlane's directorial debut: A random story of nonsense, full of jokes that don't care who they offend, four-letter obscenities, pot humour, fart jokes
and the occasional reference to 80's & 90's culture.
The story is formulaic and unoriginal but this won't be
what you're watching it for. You're watching it to see a teddy bear that acts & talks like Peter Griffin and in that
respect, it delivers.
It's no funnier than a regular episode of Family Guy, but
an entertaining comedy for fans of the cartoon. Though it's highly doubtful that Seth MacFarlane has enough in his comedy bag to keep going with anything further than this (as has been proved
with his output since).
6/10
TED 2 (15)
D: Seth MacFarlane
Universal/Media Rights Capital/Fuzzy Door (Scott Stuber, Seth
MacFarlane, Jason Clarke & John Jacobs)
US 2015
115 mins
Comedy
W: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin & Wellesley
Wild
DP: Michael Barrett
Ed: Jeff Freeman
Mus: Walter Murphy
Seth MacFarlane (voice of Ted), Mark Wahlberg (John Bennett),
Amanda Seyfried (Samantha Jackson), Jessica Barth (Tami-Lynn), Giovanni Ribisi (Donny), John Slattery (Shep Wild), Morgan Freeman (Patrick Meighan)
The foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear is back. Those who
watched the original will expect more of the same. It's a film about a cuddly toy that talks like Peter Griffin.
This follow-up feels like a bit of a cash-grab, with a
scattily-plotted story where Ted fights for civil rights after being legally declared an item of property rather than a person, so he and best friend John (Mark Wahlberg) hire pot-smoking young
lawyer Amanda Seyfried to take the case.
There's one or two amusing moments, but there's also far too
many jokes that fall flat and feel far too mean-spirited, especially when compared to the kooky fun of the original film, some of the jokes even feel like they're outtakes from the previous
adventure.
There's also far too many cameos that go nowhere, such as Liam
Neeson surreptitiously buying breakfast cereal and a plotline which goes nowhere about collecting Tom Brady's ejaculate. The overall result is no better than a live action version of a Family Guy
episode, with a bear, endless references to 1980's films and TV shows and a "legalise cannabis" argument which is exhaled straight into your face.
This is very much for the Facebook and Twitter generation.
#Average
4/10
