Film Talk: Looking Back – Thunder buddies for life with Ted
It's very rare in this modern world that the idea behind a movie turns heads or comes as a surprise. But when a yarn starring a foul-mouthed hedonistic teddy bear landed in 2012, surprise was definitely the word.
The flick that marked the feature directorial debut of Seth 'Family Guy' MacFarlane, Ted was a naughty little side-splitter that had audiences across the land gasping for breath in the very best of ways.
Written by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, and Wellesley Wild, this comedy sensation told the tale of a boy from Boston whose childhood wish brings his new teddy bear to life. Fast forward a couple of decades and the two are still best pals, yet both of them have picked up a few bad habits on the way.
Starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, the flick put the vocal talents of MacFarlane front and centre as the voice of the titular Ted, and anticipation was high for its release.
But would MacFarlane's brand of comedy work well in a largely live-action feature flick, and would the mainstream crowds give the thumbs-up?
Director and stars crossed their fingers...
In Boston, Massachusetts, lonely young lad John Bennett just wants a friend. On a fateful Christmas day, he makes a desperate wish for his new teddy bear to come to life, and when the impossible occurs, Ted becomes his best pal for life. Fast-forwarding twenty-seven years, John (Wahlberg) is a 35-year-old underachiever who works at a car rental and spends his free time smoking pot, watching movies and drinking eer with Ted, who has become a bit of a bad influence on his old chum.
John's girlfriend Lori (Kunis) loves him and wants him to move forward with his life, but feels that Ted is holding him back.
After a particular episode of Ted's behaviour forces John to acknowledge Lori's concerns, John arranges for him and Ted to live apart. He is however quickly drawn back to his pal's hedonistic lifestyle and things for Lori become too much.
Desperate to win her back, John enlists Ted's help to prove his love to her. But a strange danger is waiting our furry friend...
Released at the height of summer, Ted was a box office hit, grossing $549.4 million against a $50–65 million budget.
The highest-grossing comedy film of 2012, Ted is in fact the second highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time (behind The Hangover Part II).
The film received generally positive reviews, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Praise should be directed first and foremost to the comedy genius that is Macfarlane, yet it should also be heaped on Wahlberg and Kunis whose chemistry was nothing less than fantastic. Wahlberg's performance was one of the finest of his career – especially considering how much of it involved interacting with a CGI character – and only in The Departed does he give a funnier turn.
A final special mention must also go to Sam Jones, whose cameo proved that the immortal power of Flash Gordon's hair can never be defeated.
Followed up with a 2015 sequel, Ted launched a successful franchise, with a TV prequel series centring on a teenage John and Ted currently in development.
As far as a first feature effort for MacFarlane, the Family Guy wizard knocked it out of the park and set a great standard for projects to come, including the equally brilliant A Million Ways to Die in the West.
Daft, disgraceful and thoroughly delectable; if your body is in need of a belly laugh, Ted will be just the tonic for you.
