'Ted' coming this summer. (2012)*

I'm also not optimistic about this film. I thought the trailer looked pretty weak, and I don't have much faith in Macfarlane. I'll probably see it out of curiosity, but I kinda doubt it's gonna make me laugh...

 

I saw the previews online. It did make me laugh. I don't know if I will see it in the theater, as I seldom go to theaters anymore, but I will see it on video. I may have to see it alone though.

 

Make sure you don't watch it alone while sitting in front of an iMac.

 

Call me crazy but I'm going to wait until somebody has actually seen this before I decide it's crap.

 

Okay, you're crazy.

 

I saw a cut and thought it was really funny, with a solid story to boot. The humor is a bit raunchy but not over the top, it doesn't tread into American Pie territory. Not a classic by any means, but a good time.

 

Oh, and I really like that everyone can see him. I think it makes the story bit refreshing and something new, b/c you really don't know what to expect. And the premise isn't really that a teddy bear is alive, it's more about a man (Wahlberg) who can't grow up.

 

I'm going to wait until I have actually seen this before I decide it's crap.

 

Could've been worse. Wahlberg's part could've been played by Adam Sandler...

 

Or Jack Black. Or Zach Galifianakis.

 

It just hit me. Jason Sudeikis would be perfect for this role. I wonder if he was offered the part?

 

As Ted?

 

As Wahlberg's role.

 

McFarlane's a soulless mimic and a shameless "borrower" of others' ideas.

I expect Ted to "blow up real good", as in bomb.

 

I dunno. Mila Kunis's involvement is just about the only thing holding my interest here, and McFarlane has only given Meg about one line per episode for the past few years. Am I too cynical in assuming that she's barely going to be in this one as well?
I'm gonna need to read some VERY enthusiastic reviews before I can convince myself to pay attention here.

 

I think she's gotten so few lines on Family Guy because they've made her into a boring, punching-bag of a character with no real personality.

 

Surprisingly, the movie just got a near-rave review from the Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy (one of my all-time favorite critics), and also a very positive review from Roger Ebert! Go figure.

Some quotes from Ebert:

"The funniest movie character so far this year is a stuffed teddy bear. And the best comedy screenplay so far is "Ted," the saga of the bear's friendship with a 35-year-old manchild."

"What's remarkable about "Ted" is that it doesn't run out of steam. MacFarlane seems unwilling to stop after the first payoff of a scene. He keeps embellishing. In Ted, he has an inexhaustible source of socially obnoxious behavior and language, and it's uncanny the way a teddy bear can get away with doing and saying things that we wouldn't necessarily accept from a human character. This is partly because Ted is a stand-up insult comedian trapped inside the body of a teddy bear."

And from McCarthy:

"The merrily rude humor of Family Guy slides right into feature films with nary a burp nor a fart in Ted, a raucously funny goof about a boozing, pot-smoking, foul-mouthed teddy bear who would be instant new best friends with The Hangover guys. Not too many films serve up laughs that just keep on rolling with regularity from beginning to end, but Seth MacFarlane's directorial debut does so and without any feeling of strain. There's admittedly something a bit weird about the premise that might keep away some viewers who would otherwise belly up for a good gross comedy, but the comedy quotient is more than high enough to prompt upbeat word-of-mouth and solid summer business."

I'm very glad to be wrong about this one. The reviews are good enough that I'm going to go out of my way to see it. And I gotta say, if nothing else, this is a very original (albeit bizarre) idea for a movie, and I'm amazed that McFarland pulled it off -- assuming the reviews are on the money.

 

I have this one on my watch list.

 

When I saw the previews a month ago I was thinking this could be a hit. Could I be right for once?

Now I think I may see it in the theater, especially with this damn heat, it may be nice break.

 

Looks like a fun movie.

 

Hoping to get to this one in the next week. Looks like a blast! The "red band" trailer on YouTube is very crass, but pretty funny.

 

Perhaps the most stupid idea for a movie I have seen in a long time.
-Bill

 

I find it hard to swallow myself. The lines might be funny on their own but I can't watch the stupid bear site them all the while surrounded by adult absurdity. It's at least one step lower than a "talking dog".
-Bill

 

You're not wrong any more than Ebert and McCarthy are "right." AV Club gives it a "B" today and says a mystery plot grinds the last third of the film to a halt. So, proceed with caution, I guess.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/ted,81842/

 

Seth McFarland seems to be a pretty talented guy. So why does the voice of "Ted" have to sound exactly like "Peter Griffin"?