Movie Review: Ted (2012) seen in theatres, on DVD and multiple streaming services

Comedy; not recommended for young children; coarse language, sexual content, drug use throughout, violence, partial nudity, including one scene which has an implication of death

Mark Wahlberg stars as a grown up John Bennett who was bullied as a child. He makes a wish that his teddy bear can talk so he can be friends with him. He eventually names his teddy bear Ted and they do everything together. However, problems arise when both Ted and John grow up to be pot smoking pals as John’s girlfriend pressures him to get Ted to move out.

I was really looking forward to seeing this movie as it is the first movie to be created by Seth Macfarlane, the creator of “Family Guy,” (who also voices Ted.) I was a big fan of the “Family Guy” growing up and therefore, I knew exactly what to expect when I first saw this trailer. It is basically “Family Guy,” come to life and it has all the language and references you would think would be featured in “Family Guy.” To me, this was a huge draw. The whole movie contains material and dialogue that I find amusing. The problem is that this dialogue is not approved of by mom and I know she would not approve of it. My favourite line in this movie is the chase scene when Mark Wahlberg’s character is on the phone with the police reporting that Ted had been stolen. “I need the police. Somebody stole my teddy bear.” This was being said from a man who is in his mid 30’s to a police officer which I’m sure they found to be childish. Anyway, unlike most movies where I have had to scrape to find any good scenes, this movie is full of them.

The movie shows a softer side as well. The movie depicts some emotional scenes of what it’s like to grow up and move on from a favourite toy because you’re too old to play with them anymore, ETC. It also shows how far one friend would go to help another in need. In the aforementioned chase scene, Ted accidentally gets torn apart and John must rush to save him. Though this movie tends to present very few lessons that are good for children, these two are among the few that children can learn from. This is something I have to give this movie credit for. With all of the inappropriate language and scenes throughout, someone who hasn’t seen this movie would likely believe it’s not for children at all. Well, this movie deserves some credit for having good lessons for children despite the movie itself not promoting that at all.

This was a great movie that I would recommend…especially to those who are fans of “Family Guy.”

Movie rating: 10 out of 10

Next movie review: Ted 2