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Ted (film)

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Ted
File:Ted poster.jpg
Promotional poster with original release date
Directed bySeth MacFarlane
Screenplay bySeth MacFarlane
Alec Sulkin
Wellesley Wild
Story bySeth MacFarlane
Produced byScott Stuber
Seth MacFarlane
John Jacobs
Jason Clark
StarringMark Wahlberg
Mila Kunis
Seth MacFarlane
Giovanni Ribisi
Joel McHale
Patrick Warburton
Matt Walsh
Narrated byPatrick Stewart
CinematographyMichael Barrett
Edited byJeff Freeman
Music byWalter Murphy
Production
companies
Media Rights Capital
Fuzzy Door Productions
Bluegrass Films
Smart Entertainment
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • June 29, 2012 (2012-06-29)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50 million[1]-$65 million[2]
Box office$153,967,323 [1]

Ted (stylized as ted) is a 2012 American comedy film, directed, co-written and produced by Seth MacFarlane, who stars in it along with Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. The supporting cast includes Giovanni Ribisi, Joel McHale, Jessica Stroup, and Patrick Warburton. The film is the feature-length directorial debut of MacFarlane,[2] produced by Media Rights Capital, and distributed by Universal Pictures.

Plot

In 1985, nearby the city of Brockton, MA (near Boston), John Bennett is a lonely child who dearly wished for his new Christmas gift, a large teddy bear named Ted, to come to life to be his friend. That wish coincided with a falling star and Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) became a fully mobile sentient being. John's parents (Alex Borstein and Ralph Garman) got over the shock, word of the miracle spread and Ted was briefly a celebrity.

In 2012, John (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (voiced and motion captured by Seth MacFarlane) are still staunch, if immature, companions enjoying a hedonistic life even while John is pursuing a 4-year-long relationship with a level-headed office worker, Lori Collins (Mila Kunis). As the fourth anniversary of their relationship approaches, Lori hopes to marry John, but she feels he can't move ahead with his life with Ted around, who has become a vulgar, obnoxious wastrel. John is resistant to making his lifelong companion leave, but he is finally persuaded that night to act when the couple discover Ted at home with four prostitutes, one of whom had defecated on the floor during a game of truth or dare.

John finds Ted his own apartment and a job at a grocery store where his grossly irresponsible behavior on the job manages to both get him promoted and acquainted with the superficial co-worker Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth). Regardless, Ted and John still spend most of their time together, which frustrates Lori when she discovers John has been skipping work to do so while using her for his excuses. Things start to come to a head when Lori and John are invited to a party put on by Lori's lecherous manager, Rex (Joel McHale), and Ted lures John away to a wild party at his apartment with the offer to meet Sam J. Jones (playing himself), the star of their favorite movie, Flash Gordon. Although John arrives with the intention of spending only a few minutes, he gets caught up in the occasion which goes completely out of control. Eventually, Lori discovers John there and breaks up with him in a rage. At that, John blames Ted for ruining his life and tells him to stay away.

Eventually, Ted and John confront each other about their ruined friendship and manage to reconcile after a destructive brawl in John's hotel room. To repair John's relationship with Lori, Ted arranges with an old lover, singer Norah Jones (playing herself), to help by having John express his love for Lori with a song during her concert. Although John's performance proves an embarrassment, Lori is touched by the attempt while being repelled by Rex's sneering of him. Later, Ted meets Lori at her apartment and explains that he was responsible for John's lapse and offers to leave them alone forever if she goes to at least speak with him. Lori is persuaded, but moments after she leaves, Ted is kidnapped by Donny (Giovanni Ribisi), a crazed stalker who idolized Ted as a child. Donny plans to make Ted the toy of his brutishly destructive son, Robert (Aedin Mincks).

Ted manages to distract Robert and reach a phone to contact John, but is soon recaptured. Realizing that Ted is in danger, John and Lori manage to find Donny's residence and chase him and Robert to rescue Ted. The chase leads to Fenway Park, where John manages to knock out Robert, but during the chase Ted is damaged and falls onto the field torn completely in half. A police car arrives, forcing Donny to flee. As John and Lori gather his stuffing, Ted relays his wish that John be happy with Lori, as the magic that gives him life fades away.

Unable to accept his best friend's death, Lori and John return to her apartment to attempt to repair him, but it proves useless. That night, Lori, feeling profoundly guilty over her role in this tragedy, makes a wish on a falling star. The next morning, Ted is magically restored and the trio fully reconcile with Ted encouraging John and Lori to resume their relationship.

With that resolution, John and Lori are married and Ted comfortably accepts having a life of his own, with his misbehavior getting him somehow promoted to grocery store manager. John and Lori are married in a ceremony presided over by Sam Jones. Rex gives up his pursuit of Lori, goes into a deep depression, and dies of Lou Gehrig's disease. Sam Jones attempts to restart his career and moves into a studio apartment with Brandon Routh, and Patrick Stewart in the naration, makes fun of Superman Returns, and how it was "God Awful" Despite the movie having positive reviews. Donny gets arrested for kidnapping a plush toy. The charges are eventually dropped because they sound too stupid. Robert hires a personal trainer, loses a significant amount of weight and eventually becomes Taylor Lautner.

Cast

Production

MacFarlane's directorial debut is a live-action effort, with computer animation handled by visual effects facilities Tippett Studio and Iloura. MacFarlane wrote the screenplay with his Family Guy colleagues Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild.[7] MacFarlane announced the movie in the February 10, 2011, episode of Conan.

Filming began in May 2011 in Boston and Swampscott, Massachusetts.[8]

The film was set for a July 13, 2012, release in North America, but was pushed up to June 29 after the delay of G.I. Joe: Retaliation.[9] The film was released in Australia on July 5, 2012[10] and is due to be released in the United Kingdom on August 1, 2012.[11]

Release

Critical reception

The film currently has a 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 143 reviews, with an average score of 6.5/10, saying "Ted's 'romance versus bromance' plot is familiar, but the film's held aloft by the high-concept central premise and a very funny (albeit inconsistent) script."[12] Based on the top critics, the film holds a 64% "fresh" rating based on 36 reviews, with an average score of 6.4/10.[12] Review aggregate Metacritic has given the film a weighted score of 62, based on 36 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[13] Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 grade, citing the movie as "the best comedy screenplay so far [this year]," also praising the film on the fact that it "doesn't run out of steam."[14]

Nathan Rabin of The A. V. Club gave the film a B grade.[15]

Brent McNight of Beyond Hollywood commented on the jokes, "Some of these jokes hit, some jokes miss."[16]

On the other hand, A. O. Scott of The New York Times called Ted "boring, lazy and wildly unoriginal."[17]

Box office

Ted earned $2.6 million in midnight showings.[18] For its opening day, Ted scored one of the best R-rated comedy debuts ever since The Hangover with an estimated $20.2 million.[19][1] The film earned a total of $54.4 million in its opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada, well over second-place Magic Mike's $39.2 million.[20] Its overall weekend gross set a record for the highest original R-rated movie opening of all time. [21]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Ted (2012)".
  2. ^ a b Fleming, Mike (October 25, 2010). "Mark Wahlberg back in Buddy Comedy Mode". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Parks, Ryan (April 11, 2011). "A new scene: 'Family Guy' creator reels in talents to test luck on the silver screen". The Daily Orange. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  4. ^ Fleming, Mike (April 19, 2011). "Patrick Warburton lands custom fit Ted Role". Deadline.com. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  5. ^ Fleming, Mike (May 2, 2011). "Supergirl Flies In For Seth MacFarlane's 'Ted'". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  6. ^ Kit, Borys (April 21, 2011). "'90210' Star Jessica Stroup Joins Seth MacFarlane's 'Ted' (Exclusive)". The Holywood Reporter. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  7. ^ Wigler, Josh (October 26, 2010). "Mark Wahlberg Joins Family Guy Creator Seth MacFarlane for Ted". MTV.com. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  8. ^ "New Projects coming to New England". Onlocationsvacations.com. January 17, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ http://villagecinemas.com.au/Movies/Ted.htm
  11. ^ http://www.filmdates.co.uk/films/2840-ted/
  12. ^ a b "Ted - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster, Inc. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  13. ^ "Ted". Metacritic. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  14. ^ "Roger Ebert - Ted Review". Roger Ebert. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  15. ^ Rabin, Nathan (June 28, 2012). "Ted". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  16. ^ McNight, Brent (June 29, 2012). "Ted (2012) Movie Review". Beyond Hollywood. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  17. ^ Scott, A. (June 28, 2012). "The Lady or the Teddy?". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  18. ^ "'Magic Mike' earns $2.1 million at midnight shows; 'Ted' even bigger with $2.6 million". Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  19. ^ "Box office update: 'Ted' smokes competition with $20.2 million Friday; 'Magic Mike' close behind". Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  20. ^ Sinha-Roy, Piya (July 1, 2012). "Foul-mouthed "Ted" takes movie box office crown". Reuters. Retrieved July 1, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ http://movies.yahoo.com/news/box-office-report-ted-earns-record-54-1-155620510.html
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