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Ted (2012)

Ted

I like “Family Guy”. It’s a hilarious TV series. Seth MacFarlane, the creator of “Family Guy”, came last year with his very first feature film titled “Ted”, featuring a fluffy teddy bear that comes to life. What could be any more inappropriate than seeing this lovable teddy bear smokes pot, insults, and picks girl? Seth MacFarlane destructed the cuteness of this all kids’ favorite playmate and turned it into the funniest adult comedy of the year. He co-wrote it, directed it, and voiced for the leading role, Ted, that was created with a stunning computer-generated imagery.

It’s all started with a Christmas dream, where a lonely, introverted kid named John Bennett wished upon a shooting star to have his only friend—a cute, lovely teddy bear called Ted—comes to life. Let the wonder played there, and voila, the next morning he got his Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) walked, talked, and laughed with him. John was very happy to have such a best friend like Ted where he could share everything together. John grew up, became a 35-year-old good-looking guy (played by Mark Wahlberg) that live together with his girlfriend Lori (played by Mila Kunis) and, of course, the grown-old Ted. John and Lori had been in a relationship for almost 4 years, and although Lori knew Ted very well, she asked John for a more serious stage of their relationship. But, John was so attached with his buddy-for-life that he had a tough decision to ask Ted move out of their house in order to continue his relationship with Lori.


Ted
"I belong to John Bennett" - Ted


If you have seen any of the works of Seth MacFarlane, you may not feel awkward with they way he jokes: ridiculous, quite offensive, absurd, but entertaining. He used the same formula for “Ted”, although he also sprinkled a bit taste of drama about friendship that makes you see “Ted” is not a pure laughing-out-loud comedy. Some moments are heart-warming in a “normal” level, thanks to the dialogue provided that neutralize my tendency of being “touched” due to some incredible shots and perfect chemistry between the two leading roles. Ted is spectacular. Maybe he is one of the most noticeable movie character of 2012 because, not only he could turn a cute, adorable, and innocent teddy bear into a rude and innappropriate bad-boy, but also that he could wrap a nice characterization of a good friend. John and Ted have lived together for years and the chemistry of the two was undeniably strong. Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane successfully created such chemistry, even better than the chemistry Mark built with Mila Kunis. John and Ted share the same interest, they protect and help each other; see how John leave Ted who moved out and lived alone in an apartment, it’s very heartbreaking but they could display a tear-jerking goodbye in a standard, “manly” way. No tears, no cries, no cheap dramatic dialogues. It’s spectacular to see how the screenplay did it without being so dramatic that could shift this hilarious comedy into a pure drama about friendship.

It's just, I think that the third and the last act of the film is somewhat unsatisfying. "Ted" has succeeded in presenting slowly but climaxing conflicts, but ended them without providing a perfect solution. It seems forced. Well, maybe it’s not the first time Seth MacFarlane did such a bad ending in any of his works (most episodes of "Family Guy", for example, also ended anticlimax-ly like this), but see how he successfully presented pretty and meaningful photographs to build dramatic nuance  and you may agree with me that it’s so very regretful not to maximize and support them with a good resolution. The addition of antagonists like Donny (played by Giovanni Ribisi) and his son Robert (played by Aedin Mincks) in the latest duration is quite annoying as they appeared all of a sudden, not via a good development and introduction from the beginning of the film. Well, maybe at the first place the film is intended to be a ridiculous entertainment instead of a touching comedy, but while “Ted” successfully bring laughter for its comedic side, it feels so half-hearted with the drama that it tried to bring forward as a premise.

Ted

But, beyond that, "Ted" is a promising entertainment that blends inappropriateness into humor. After Stewie Griffin in “Family Guy”, Ted is my another favorite character from Seth MacFarlane. I feel like I want one talking teddy bear near me when I’m asleep, haha, but I don’t want one that talks rude like Ted. Ted is a nice bro in a package of cotton, and he feels so real more than how he seems from his outlook. “Ted” has a nice premise, and although it didn’t finger-snapped me with his dramatic atmosphere, it is truly a hilarious comedy.



Ted

3.5 out of 5 stars

 ▲  Hilarious comedy, great appearance and characterization of Ted 
 ▼  Half-hearted drama premise, unsatisfying resolution

TED | COUNTRY USA YEAR 2012 RATING Rated R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, and some drug use RUNTIME 106 min GENRE Comedy, Fantasy CAST Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Giovanni Ribisi, Aedin Mincks WRITER Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild DIRECTOR Seth MacFarlane IMDB RATING 7.2/10 METACRITIC 62/100 (Generally Favorable) ROTTEN TOMATOES 69% MORE INFO

Akbar Saputra

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2 comments:

  1. Good review Akbar. I'm not a fan of Family Guy, so when I saw this and realized how freakin' clever Seth MacFarlane really can be, I was taken aback and had a great time with this flick. Ted is such a great character, too, and Wahlberg works so well with him.

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    1. yeah, and I love the CGI they made to create Ted. it's very natural

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