Ted

This month TV’s Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, American Dad, etc.) hits the big screen, and, frankly, it’s about time. Despite what die-hard fans might say about how the run-on gags in The Cleveland Show are better than any of his other shows, there are only so many incarnations of animated dysfunctional families that I can follow without them starting to blur. It’s time to move on – the future is furry, the future is Ted!

The story centres on John, played by Mark Wahlberg, a 35 year old who still plays with his teddy bear. If that sounds strange to you, that’s ok, it should - until you meet the beer swilling, pot smoking, stripper loving, foul mouthed, un-cuddly toy that is Ted. Voiced by MacFarlane himself, Ted is determined to keep his party lifestyle with John top priority, even when faced with the threat of John’s girlfriend, played by Mila Kunis.

MacFarlane is actually still on familiar ground with this movie. Ted and John are, essentially, Peter and Brian Griffin in another world - and that’s no bad thing at all: MacFarlane’s forte has always been to deliver huge laughs without compromising the premise, and as such Wahlberg comes across as affably vulnerable instead of hideously delusional. It’s not a story about a crazy man and his bear, it’s a story about friendship (and sex and drugs).

So will this be a cross to ‘bear’ for MacFarlane, or is Ted stuffed full of laughs? Wahlberg looks confused, MacFarlane is hilarious and Kunis is smoking hot. Definitely one to watch.