Family Guy is one of my favourite shows. Like, ever. And so when I first began seeing the trailers and adverts for Ted, I was very, very excited.
However, the problem with something you love – whether it be, more usually, a favourite book or, less usually, a TV show – being given the Hollywood treatment is that it could go horribly, horribly wrong. The Inbetweeners Movie managed to leap the distance, but others (Dukes Of Hazzard, anyone?) have not been so fortunate.
Obviously Ted is different to Family Guy, but the jokes and premise are so similar that it’d be very easy for the film to influence perception of the show.
Fortunately, I can report that Ted is LOL brilliant, from beginning to end.
Once you get over the initial idea of Mark Wahlberg’s best friend being a talking teddy bear, you quickly become immersed in the world of John Bennett (Wahlberg), his long-suffering girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis) and their soft toy gooseberry, Ted.
Ted smokes, swears and is a fan of Cheers. Having initially shot to fame in his, er, youth, he became a regular fixture on the talkshow circuit. Now, in the present day, Ted is forced to leave John for the first time and stand on his own two paws (with hilarious consequences! Obviously…)
There are lots of in-jokes that Family Guy fans will lap up, and various members of the FG cast – other than Seth MacFarlane, 
who not only wrote , directed and produced the film, but also voiced Ted – pop up throughout. There are also numerous star appearances: other than having Kunis and Wahlberg in the leading roles, there are turns from Patrick Stewart as narrator, Giovanni Ribisi as a neurotic father, Sam Jones (aka Flash Gordon), Norah Jones (as herself)… Even Ryan Reynolds pops up for a mute but vaguely sinister cameo.
The plot is predictable and mocks itself for being so; sometimes it almost feels self-congratulatory in places. There are no massive twists in the storyline, but the innuendo and jokes come so thick and fast that no one really cares. Plus, who hasn’t wanted a walking, talking teddy bear at some point? Ted is TYC’s favourite film star of 2012.
In cinemas now
