Movie Mom

Movie Mom

Ted

posted by Nell Minow
B-
Lowest Recommended Age:Adult
MPAA Rating:Rated R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, and some drug use
Profanity:Extremely strong, explicit, and crude language
Nudity/Sex:Extremely explicit and graphic sexual references, male and female nudity
Movie Release Date:June 29, 2012
DVD Release Date:December 11, 2012

It’s so wrong.  But it is very funny.

Fans of Seth MacFarlane are familiar with the politically incorrect humor that has made him the world’s highest-paid television writer (“The Family Guy,” “American Dad,” “The Cleveland Show”) and a popular emcee at the raunchy Friar’s Club roasts.  They should strap on their seat belts for his first movie, which takes full benefit of the R rating to include outrageous and offensive humor in every category plus a lot of pop culture references.  Nothing is sacred here, except the need to make jokes about anything anyone has ever thought sacred.  The “oh, no, he didn’t” factor may have them falling out of their seats.  Or maybe just the laughter.

Mark Wahlberg, who deserves acting and good sportsmanship awards for this film, plays 35-year-old John, a guy who spends his life smoking weed with his talking teddy bear, Ted (voice of co-screenwriter MacFarlane).  This is not a pull-the-string-hear-the-recording talking teddy bear.  This is a teddy bear that talks because when John was a bullied, friendless eight-year-old, he made a Christmas wish that came true and promised Ted that they would be best friends for life.

John and Ted are very adult — as in “for adults only,” not as in “mature” when it comes to their pleasures and vocabulary but perpetually juvenile when it comes to things like responsibility and downright childish when it comes to thunderstorms.  John’s one brush with actual adulthood is his relationship with Lori (Mila Kunis).  He loves her dearly.  She loves him, too, and does not mind that he has no education or ambition.  But living with the bear is getting on her nerves, especially when she comes home to find him surrounded by hookers.

Most of the movie is repeated jokes about the incongruity of a cute teddy bear with a foul mouth and an flurry of pop culture references and surprise cameos.  But some of them are truly hilarious, especially two people named Jones.  If there was an Oscar for being a good sport, they’d both win.

Parents should know that this film has intentionally offensive and provocative humor with constant human and ursine bad behavior in every category including very strong, graphic, and offensive language, homophobic and ethnic humor, explicit sexual references and situations, male and female nudity, drinking, drug use, comic violence including stabbing, and fights.

Family discussion: Why was it hard for John to grow up?  What made Ted so important to him?

If you like this, try:  Seth McFarlane’s animated television series, “The Family Guy,” “The Cleveland Show,” and “American Dad” – and “Flash Gordon”



You Might Also Like...
Previous Posts

See "Star Trek: Into Darkness" Stars in This Underrated British Gem
Long before they starred in this week's "Star Trek: Into Darkness," Benedict Cumberbatch and Alice Eve appeared in the sweet indie romantic comedy "Starter for 10," also featuring James McAvoy ("X-Men First Class") and Rebecca Hall ("Iron Man 3"). [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5JwoOHPm

posted 3:59:12pm May. 19, 2013 | read full post »

New DVD Giveaway: Word Girl vs. The Energy Monster
One of my favorite television series for kids is the wonderful PBS show "Word Girl," and this new release is one of the best: Wordgirl vs the Energy Monster. WORDGIRL and her sidekick CAPTAIN HUGGY FACE fight the good fight against dastardly villains and bad vocabulary in this thrilling collection!

posted 8:00:22am May. 19, 2013 | read full post »

Disney Lets Merida Be Merida After All
Did the folks at Disney even watch "Brave?"  One of the great strengths of Pixar's first movie starring a female character (and its first originally written by a woman, Brenda Chapman, though she was replaced by a male director) was that its feisty heroine, Merida, looked like a real girl and not a

posted 8:00:52am May. 18, 2013 | read full post »

Want to Know What James Franco Thinks of "The Great Gatsby?"
I'm interested in James Franco's take on "The Great Gatsby" because of what this polymath who attended two grad schools at once has to say about the challenges of adapting great writing to the screen and the differing goals and audience expectations of a book now viewed as a classic and a movie. Th

posted 8:00:42am May. 17, 2013 | read full post »

Interview: Directors/Writer/Star of "Desperate Acts of Magic"
Magic is in the air.  And on the screen.  Two big-budget films with some of Hollywood's biggest stars playing magicians are being released within a few months of each other.  In March, we had the silly comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, with Steve Carell and Jim Carrey.  Coming up is the en

posted 8:00:21am May. 17, 2013 | read full post »

Advertisement
Comments read comments(4)
post a comment
Miguel

posted June 29, 2012 at 10:36 am


Hi Nell,

If you enjoyed the film why the B-?

Miguel



report abuse
 

    Nell Minow

    posted June 29, 2012 at 1:07 pm


    Hi, Miguel! I enjoyed it, but did not like it enough to give it a B (meets the expectations of its intended audience) or higher. Some of the humor is lazy, unless you think jokes about weed and hookers and men who don’t want to grow up are inherently hilarious.



    report abuse
     

Steve

posted July 4, 2012 at 8:10 pm


The bottom line is that as expected, the movie is a long R-rated Family Guy episode. If Family Guy offends you then this isn’t for you. If you like Family Guy, then the comedy is consistent with the show and you’ll love it.

I for one, loved it. It’s obviously not for kids, though.



report abuse
 

    Nell Minow

    posted July 5, 2012 at 3:03 pm


    Right on all points, Steve, thanks!



    report abuse
     

Post a Comment

By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.





Report as Inappropriate

You are reporting this content because it violates the Terms of Service.

All reported content is logged for investigation.