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.

TED's main enabler is his lifelong “thunder buddy” John (Mark Wahlberg), who, at 35, still spends way too much time getting wasted with his fuzzy friend, whose coat, truth be told, is beginning to wear as thin as his act in spots. John's dreamy girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis) is more tolerant of the best friend than John deserves, but their fourth anniversary of togetherness cues certain expectations in her that John is not yet ready to offer.

Singer Norah Jones contributes a nifty cameo as herself, freely admitting that she had a thing with Ted some years back and that he was pretty good for a guy without the usual equipment. An uncredited appearance, and one so sexually unexpected as to provoke a double and even triple take to make sure it's who you think it is, is put in by Ryan Reynolds.
MacFarlane has a great knack for getting all his performers to be loose and self-deprecating. The banter between John and Ted has a natural working-class, shooting-the-breeze style just like the men in Family Guy, while the relationship between John and Lori feels genuine and strong enough to make you root for it to work out, with Wahlberg relaxed and very appealing as a guy who's postponed growing up as long as he can. {EDITED]


Hollywood Reporter
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