Ted Review

I don’t know how much of this will be an actual film review and how much of this will be a rant and rave. Ted is the first feature film from Seth MacFarlane and he also voices Ted, the bear that looks cuddly, but is actually quite crude and vulgar. MacFarlane, of course, is known from his work on Family Guy, a show I must admit has provided me with little to no laughs.

John Bennett is played by Mark Wahlberg as sort of a man-child that refuses to grow up. He would rather smoke pot all day with his teddy bear, Ted. You see, Ted is real because John grew up without any friends and wished for his teddy bear to be his best friend forever. Yes, he’s seen as a real life teddy bear that lives and breathes around town. At one point, he was a major celebrity and even appeared on the Johnny Carson show. Now, John is 35-years-old, and Ted has grown up to no longer be a cute and cuddly bear. He’s basically become a moocher and a pain in John’s rear end.

John’s girlfriend is played by the lovely Mila Kunis, who is given the thankless role of telling John to grow up. They have been dating for four years, and she wants him to grow up and leave his teddy bear behind. Yes, the all too familiar story of a boy who needs to turn into a man as his girlfriend nags him and pushes him to be an adult. This story has been done countless times in Apatow flicks and other R-rated comedies.

I must be in the minority here, as the film has received rave reviews from critics and made over 54 million dollars at the box office in its opening weekend. It’s clear that MacFarlane has an eye on what the 18-34 demographic is looking for and what they want to see. The theater crowd that I viewed the film with was laughing their asses off and had a blast with it. They were clapping when the film was over.

Three jokes in particular made me quite uncomfortable: one involving Ted telling a young child he will get kid cancer, a joke about 9/11 and Nora Jones, and Lou Gehrig's disease. Yes, almost anything can be made funny if done in a creative and unique way, look at Curb Your Enthusiasm for example. With Ted, it’s all done to get a reaction out of someone. They are not imaginative, humorous, or even remotely stimulating. They are just said to get a groan and cheap reaction out of the crowd. That’s not comedy. That’s high school humor.

Seth MacFarlane is basically saying with this film that everything and everyone sucks, and nothing and no one has meaning. It’s a sad state of affairs and a very cynical, negative way to look at the world. There is no originality with the story, the jokes, or the execution and the lame attempt at heart near the end of the film.

Come on, America! Is this what you find funny?

Grade: C-

How should you see it: For Seth MacFarlane fans only.

Friends with Benefits Review

Friends with Benefits has been teased and probably rightfully so for looking and sounding an awful lot like a recent film with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher called No Strings Attached. Both films are R-rated, raunchy, and ask the question: can men and women partake in a strictly sexual relationship? While the premise is essentially the same, these are two very different flicks at the end of the day. The only thing they have in common is that they are both pretty good romantic comedies. In today’s day and age, that’s quite a feat. The film, directed by Easy A’s Will Gluck, is full of pop culture references, songs, and situations. It also has a keen eye for romantic comedies and has seen them before and knows how they work and operate.

Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake star in this flick as two young good looking people who have horrible luck in relationships. They decide to retire from dating and strictly focus on their careers. Of course, they have needs, just like any other man and woman do, and decide to have a relationship that is all about sex, nothing more. They will have no emotional connection to each other or do any of the usual relationship habits. They just have sex, hang out, and have fun. Of course, being friends with benefits is easier said than done. What happens when one person gets too attached? How do you act and what are the rules?

Besides Kunis and Timberlake, actors Richard Jenkins, Jenna Elfman, Bryan Greenberg, Patricia Clarkson, and Woody Harrelson lend their considerable talents to this project.  It’s a great ensemble cast, much like Gluck’s Easy A had. Gluck has a certain style, and both Easy A and Friends with Benefits have his stamp all over them. They are fast paced, witty, sweet, and also raunchy when the time calls for it. He makes films that are accessible to young teens and young adults. With all that being said, this film lies on the shoulders of Timberlake and Kunis. They have incredible chemistry together on screen, and they are the reason that the film works as well as it does. Timberlake is slowly but surely growing on me. This is probably one of his best performances I’ve seen. It’s much better than his work in the dreadful, Bad Teacher.

The sex scenes are also awkward, in a good way, comical, and oddly honest. The film also reveals a heart in the third act that adds a nice little touch to the proceedings.  Because this movie has seen other romantic comedies, it has some good lighthearted fun with its premise, especially the ending involving a flash mob. These characters are not just friends with benefits, they are best friends that are relying on each other and understand who they really are. In a romantic comedy, you want to care about the characters and root for them to end up together before the credits roll.  Friends with Benefits accomplishes that and then some. Will Gluck is making some very interesting films that are going to be remembered in the same breath as the films of John Hughes from the 1980’s.

Grade: B+

How should you see it? On the big screen