'Ted' Not Your Average Bear

When I was about 13, I was obsessed with Family Guy. I thought it was one of the most genius shows of all time. Slowly, I started to grow out of it.

I still respected the creator and lead voice of the show, Seth McFarlane. He’s a Rhode Island School of Design graduated, and it was very neat to see him create a show that was marketed to mass audiences that showcased a family, albeit a cartoon one, from Rhode Island. When I'm out of state and people find out I'm from Rhode Island, the first question they always ask is if the fictional town of Quahog in Family Guy is real. Hearing that Seth was going to tackle a full length live action film was very interesting.

While Ted is a 100 percent original work, Seth borrowed a lot from his Family Guy franchise. Try this on for size – In Ted, the main character is considered not the smartest, has an attractive partner and talks to an animal. Sounds a lot like Family Guy, and his other show, The Cleveland Show.

Not only was the lead familiar, but so were a lot of the faces in Ted. The lead actress, Mila Kunis, is the voice of Meg on Family Guy. Multiple other voice actors show up on screen during Ted, those being Patrick Warburton, Alex Borstein and of course Seth McFarlane, who voices Ted. The style of humor in Ted was on par with Family Guy. A lot of obscure pop culture references.

Anything with Mark Wahlberg in it, I will watch. Even if that film is one about a 35-year-old grown man with a talking teddy bear as his best friend.

Giovanni Ribisi has a solid supporting role as a man that is obsessed with Ted. Very Mark David Chapman-esque. The man can really act and it's eerie how creepy he gets in the film.

You can't take this film that seriously, so that's what I did. I sat back and just enjoyed it for what it was – a comedy that at times would make me laugh out loud and other times where I was shaking my head at how idiotic it was.

Overall it was a positive theater experience. There were some genuine hilarious parts. There's also a very hilarious celebrity cameo that will have people giggling a lot, I know I was from it.

I also appreciate any film that uses the city of Boston as its backdrop. You can tell McFarlane knows the city pretty well because he was able to capture a lot of the idiosyncrasies of Boston. You got to love his accent voicing Ted and of course Mark Wahlberg's Boston accent.

Seth also brings a surprising amount of heart to this silly tale, which boils down to what it's like to have a best friend that will always be there for you no matter what. Something we all want and strive for.

I give a lot of props to Seth McFarlane for being able to gather up enough support and money to create Ted. One name that I think should get a lot of credit for Ted as well is Alec Sulkin, who is credited for co-writing the screenplay. Look him up on twitter (@thesulk), he is one of the most naturally funny people out there.

Ted is well on track to make up it's estimated $39 million budget. It wouldn't shock me if it grossed more than $100 million, which would be considered a huge success. Maybe a sequel will be in the works if that happens. Ted is worth the watch in theaters on a hot summer day.

Rating: 6/10

Warning: Despite the presence of the teddy bear as the main character, Ted is very, very much not a kid’s movie. It earns its R-rating.

Want to be e-mailed when Pat has a new review? Click the “keep me posted!” button below.