Ted (Seth MacFarlane, 2012)

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wattsup32 · #1 Post by **wattsup32** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:25 am

I guess I'll be the jackass to give this movie its own thread. It did take the weekend, after all, setting a record for original R-rated comedies.

Mila Kunis really proves her skill in this. Almost all of the moments of genuine emotion in the film come from her. She's able to turn it on a dime, too. It is pretty impressive. She also seems to have natural chemistry with every male lead she acts with.

I hoped it would be different enough from Family Guy so that it wouldn't feel like a live action version of the show. It disappointed in that respect. It even had the same non-sequitur flashbacks. The voice of Ted fluctuates between Brian the dog with Peter's accent and straight-up Peter. But, I enjoy Family Guy enough that I still enjoyed sitting through the movie and I laughed out loud early and often.

There are some pretty raunchy sex jokes in the movie. Normally, I'd be all for that, but there were two women in front of me who were at least 70 who were dying of laughter. It made me very uncomfortable. I couldn't help but see the women as my grandma and then I just felt shame for laughing.

Polybius · #2 Post by **Polybius** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 4:17 am

Grandmas know all about gettin' busy or else none of us would be here.

cocaine socialist · Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:12 am

Rex Reed liked this.

He also mentioned that he liked to drink cosmos while listening to MacFarlane's album of showtune covers, which makes it the most rex reed thing rex reed has ever rex reed.

davebert · #4 Post by **davebert** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 5:05 pm

I think your enjoyment factor on this is tied directly with Family Guy, it has all the same weaknesses (and strengths), like extending joke punchlines for around 10-15 words too long, or mistaking the mere naming of some pop culture figure/movie/song as the joke, rather than the setup for one. Joel McHale is also basically wasted.

On the other hand, Mila Kunis does do a good job humanizing the film, and Wahlberg's rapid-fire recounting of white trash names is truly epic.

hearthesilence · #5 Post by **hearthesilence** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:16 pm

davebert wrote:I think your enjoyment factor on this is tied directly with Family Guy, it has all the same weaknesses (and strengths), like extending joke punchlines for around 10-15 words too long, or mistaking the mere naming of some pop culture figure/movie/song as the joke, rather than the setup for one. Joel McHale is also basically wasted.

On the other hand, Mila Kunis does do a good job humanizing the film, and Wahlberg's rapid-fire recounting of white trash names is truly epic.

Have yet to see this movie, but that clip is all over YouTube and it was hilarious.

I'm not a fan of Family Guy, but every episode has at least one joke that is absolutely hysterical. Problem is, it's a pretty low batting average - I feel like the show throws every possible joke at the wall just to see what sticks. Those weaknesses you listed, they are all valid criticisms.

matrixschmatrix · #6 Post by **matrixschmatrix** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:28 pm

I think my issues with Family Guy at this point are more related to its laziness (and the tendency to go for a joke that turns purely on reference or offensiveness with no satire to it that laziness seems to bring out) than with MacFarlane's sense of humor. So, I'll probably go see this- it sounds like it is at least comparable to the higher end of Family Guy.

Niale · #7 Post by **Niale** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:12 am

As soon as the fat jokes (at the expense of that KID) started landing, I thought to myself, Gee... I bet Rex Reed was laughing!

flyonthewall2983 · #8 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:13 am

Brother saw it last week (in the middle of a hell of a thunderstorm if you can believe it) and said it was pretty funny.

Considering from what I'm reading that this was made with the Family Guy hat on, if he does another movie closer to American Dad he'd have a Great Film on his hands.

wigwam · #9 Post by **wigwam** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 6:44 pm

I thought this movie was surprisingly/coincidentally identical in most ways to That's My Boy, but due to McFarlane's done-to-death Swinger's music and empty 80s references, That's My Boy succeeds in being funnier and earning its emotional arc resolutions whereas Ted doesn't. I actually expected/hoped to think the opposite based on both movies' trailers and was surprised both times in the theater.

oldsheperd · #10 Post by **oldsheperd** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 8:02 am

Good movie but just a tad too long.

I guess I was a bit more concerned with trying to get my date to make out with me after the movie as well, but it didn't totally hold my interest.

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