Family Guy has Peter Griffin and
his dog Brian. Ted has
John Bennett and his teddy bear...Ted.
And that's just where the similarities begin.
Seth MacFarlane is not only the creator of both, but is the voice of Brian
and Ted; Mila Kunis features in both; both are accompanied by light-hearted jazz
scores. Ted even references Family
Guy specifically – at times literally using the same voices (look out for
Stewie and Peter), at others referencing with more subtlety (the hotel fight an
obvious link to the infamous, recurring chicken fight).
It’s the comedy style
that most resembles the cartoon. The
script features the same essence of dry wit, the joke structure building
towards the final, shocking punchlines. No
stone is left unturned, with bad taste jokes on race, religion, sexuality,
drugs and more. It even includes the same
cutaways and oddball, random humour. The
story is essentially Family Guy meets
Toy Story – as a lonely eight year
old, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) wishes for his teddy to be real. Thirty-odd years later, John and Ted are
still best friends, but competition for John’s affections arises with
girlfriend Lori (Kunis). Will John ever
grow up?
The story, as with
most Family Guy episodes, is merely a
vehicle for the jokes. After follow-up
show American Dad and spin-off The Cleveland Show, the world of film
was the next logical step for MacFarlane – Ted
a cartoon come to life. For fans of
his cartoons, there is a comforting familiarity in Ted and simultaneously a lack of fresh ideas. It might be fun to spot the crossovers, but Ted isn’t quite as whacky as the Griffin
family. For those unfamiliar with
MacFarlane’s work, the film will seem all the more shocking.
This being a film,
there is, of course, a greater emphasis on story. As a result, the jokes don’t come as thick and
fast as you’d expect and the film’s denouement aims towards fluffy heart, which
just seems too wet in comparison to the humour.
Whilst the odd joke is aimed specifically at American audiences, MacFarlane
has honoured the medium with film references aplenty – from Indiana Jones to E.T, Aliens and more.
And when the jokes do
come, they’re positively hysterical and will have you howling with
laughter. The derogative style of black
humour may not be to everyone’s taste, but those who like a bit of outrageous
comedy will come away with aching faces.
The humour is supported by some great performances, from Wahlberg and
Kunis especially. The real star, though,
is MacFarlane himself – a multi-talented comedian, scriptwriter, director
and voice actor. The end result is
probably the funniest film of the year – you’ll never look at a teddy bear in
the same way again.
4/5
