What's the story?
When John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) was a child, he found it very difficult to make friends and mix with other kids.
So, one Christmas, little John receives the teddy bear he has always wanted and, wishing with all his heart that his teddy will become real and stay his friend forever and ever, John and his shell-shocked parents awake to find that his teddy is living, breathing and very real indeed.
As the years fly by, Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) goes from America's hottest celebrity to just a normal, everyday bloke within the body of a teddy bear.
He lives with John and Lori (Mila Kunis), John's smoking-hot girlfriend of four years, but his casual drug taking, alcohol abuse and general slobbery are more than Lori can stand so John is forced to choose between a future with the woman he loves and his foul-mouthed best friend.
Any good?
For those of you familiar with Seth McFarland's deliciously rude, wacky and messed-up sense of humour, as seen in the hit animated TV sitcoms Family Guy and American Dad, Ted will arrive on a wave on anticipation.
Thankfully, Family Guy fans will be relieved to hear that Ted is just as rude, crude and naughty as Peter Griffin and family.
McFarland doesn't let up when it comes to jokes that poke fun at every race, religion, sexuality and demographic imaginable, with a cute teddy bear who drinks too much beer, smokes too much weed and has the sexual appetite of a randy sailor on shore leave.
Indeed, the mere notion of Mark Wahlberg playing it straight next to a CGI teddy bear is hilarious but the special effects team have managed to make Ted look and act very real when sat next to Wahlberg, bong in hand. The relationship between the two is magnetic. Wahlberg is a man-child, a nice guy who hasn't really grown up, and Ted, well, he's the bad influence, indulging in whatever vice takes his fancy at the drop of a hat.
McFarland, who writes, directs and stars as the voice of Ted, keeps his brand of close-to-the-bone humour sparkling throughout the script and the dialogue is unbelievably obscene but very, very funny. There's excellent support from Family Guy co-star Mila Kunis as John's long-suffering girlfriend Lori.
Although the storyline is a little bit dragged out, the rude jokes and chemistry between Wahlberg's John and McFarland's Ted keep the proceedings ticking along with a messed-up gag a minute.
Final word:
An absolute must-see for Family Guy fans, Ted is racy, rude and, if you can handle the humour, one of the funniest movies of the year.
Ted is on general release from Wednesday, August 1.
