Ted

J.J. Abrams’ hard work on Super 8 was for naught. THIS is the true E.T. of the current young (pothead) generation. Some situations could have been exploited better, while some jokes fall flat and would’ve needed Kevin Smith’s writing to make them work. However, roughly an equal portion of the film is truly funny, original and bold, and what’s most important – Ted will really grow on you, which is the biggest success of a movie that doesn’t try to suck up to its audience. (17.09.2012)

A romantic comedy crossed with a fairy tale and an action thriller. That’s a wild combination, but it’s also easily watchable thanks to the central duo. Ted fights against the embarrassing nature of its subject matter with the help of would-be adult humour, which proves to be truly mature and not blatantly politically incorrect only a few times (the two best jokes are delivered to us shortly before the credits roll). Though MacFarlane stages the scenes in a very sitcom-like manner (two seated characters conversing), he still manages to make excellent use of the combination of the teddy bear’s cute appearance and debauched nature. Thanks to that, some moments are ambiguous, entertaining and touching all at the same time. The genre shift in the last third isn’t overly disruptive. Furthermore, in order for the protagonist to finally grow up, he has to face a truly serious situation, which for him is characteristically not the risk of breaking up with his girlfriend (which he accepts with the attitude of “I’m a loser, so it goes”), but the risk of losing a lifelong friend and thus, in the figurative sense, of losing his connection to the world of his childhood. Unlike in other romantic comedies, the protagonist’s transformation from an unreliable slacker into a responsible partner isn’t definitive and irreversible – he is still leniently allowed to goof off, quote from Flash Gordon, take bong hits and timidly crawl under a blanket during a storm. Thanks to that, together with the numerous allusions, references and homages (including a bizarre quote of a scene from a parody that serves to demonstrate the degree to which John’s mind is infected with eighties pop culture), Ted is a perfect piece for analysing the ways in which Hollywood is ingratiating itself to a significant group of viewer made up of men who are not exactly young, but are definitely immature and refuse to grow up. 75% (04.08.2012)

I was looking forward to having some proper laughs. In reality, however, it wasn’t so great. I don’t know whether it was the movie that didn’t sit well with me, or its humor. I just watched the movie and the fact that everything except for Mila Kunis was unlikeable made me wonder when this comedy would end. It’s not completely bad, I did have a few laughs. But I guess I thought it would be more than just a few. (17.12.2012)

MacFarlane deserves 4* just for the way he deals with one pseudo-star of the Twilight franchise in the final seconds. I loved the bear, I loved the relaxed Mark Wahlberg, I loved the clever pop culture references to all sorts of things. It was a pretty nice one-off. I was also intrigued by that mom who obviously mistook the film, probably lured by the children's title, sitting next to me with her little girl. About 10 minutes in, during one of the dialogues, which was full of orals and anals, she went rushing out of the theatre :o) (29.07.2012)

First signals. I’m not at all surprised that Ted has such good reviews on Filmbooster. Whereas with most films (and I’m not speaking about art, but about proper mainstream) Czech fans are more critical than the critics (we know how to be more Papist than the Pope), when they are the target of a frontal attack to their instincts, with a lot of profanity, boozing, smoking and shagging, they are in their element because it’s a “politically incorrect comedy that doesn’t give a shit about anything or anyone” – they beat children and make fun of Twilight! Great, init? … Well, that’s not enough, I’m afraid, It should be a lot sharper. This is just a spineless softy wearing the coat of a badass. But to be fair, there are a couple of funny scenes and I almost laughed three times. 40 % (16.11.2012)