Ted is the directorial debut of Family Guy creator Seth Macfarlane. It follows Mark Wahlberg, his girlfriend played by Mila Kunis, and his best friend, a rude/crude stuffed CGI teddy bear voiced by Macfarlane himself (basically the same voice he uses for Peter Griffin). I have to say, before I actually saw the film the trailers didn't fill me with much hope. Even though throngs of mindless movie watchers laughed in unison at the 'thunder song,' I just thought Ted looked less like the inspired first few seasons of Family Guy and more like the sophomoric later ones. I'm shocked and pleased to say I was wrong; Ted is as funny as Family Guy used to be and has a surprising amount of heart as well.Because this is live action and not a cartoon, I think this helps the comedy be more grounded. Whereas in a cartoon random cutaways are much easier to get away with, in Ted, while not absent, they are far less present or noticeable, usually there to propel the story forward and not just for a quick cheap gag. And while there are some moments that fall really flat or go too far on the offensive meter (the worst instance being one of the most racist depictions of an Asian man I've seen in the 2000's), most of the rapid fire jokes in Macfarlane's arsenal hit.
Marky Mark is spectacularly goofy in this, and his relationship with Mila Kunis is actually sweet and works well. Ted himself also looks great; we've seen other CGI creations in recent comedies (Paul), usually implementing a "the best we could do" attitude, but Ted looks like an authentic teddy bear. Some scenes, such as a fist-fight hinted at in the trailer between Wahlberg and Ted, are actually well choreographed and don't feel cheap (in fact the fight reminded me a little of Haywire). Giovanni Ribisi, a villain that was not shown in any of the trailers or TV spots to my knowledge, was appropriately creepy (yet hilarious) as well.
Ted is just a profanity-laced good time at the movies; sure it falls to some of the same over-use of pop culture gags Macfarlane tends to fall prey to, but you'll be laughing too much to care and by the end, you'll grow fond of the characters even on an emotional level - who'd have thought? In a year of disappointments, Ted comes as a pleasant surprise.
Rating: B+
I'm guessing those women showing up in theaters for a "ladies night" may be disappointed. Although the subject at hand is male strippers, this is still a Steven Soderbergh movie through and through. The story follows Adam (Alex Pettyfer, I Am Number Four), as he is introduced and somewhat guided through the ropes of male stripping by his construction co-worker Mike (Channing Tatum). Adam learns to love the power he has while stripping, and through the movie he devolves to try and get more of it.
There was quite a bit to enjoy about Magic Mike, even with its problems. The best performance had to be Matthew McConaughey as the sort of ringleader/manager of the strippers, Dallas. He's a complete scene stealer, and is definitely the most layered and interesting character (the "mirror scene" in particular). Also the actual dance numbers weren't as awkward to watch as I was anticipating. In fact they resemble something out of So You Think You Can Dance more than straight up stripping. Of the dancers Channing Tatum is the best by far; it's more than merely taking off his clothes, he does all sorts of complex, crazy robot moves and spinning stuff - and I never thought I'd utter these words, but this makes me want to check out his work in Step Up. Each of the dance scenes also have a particular theme (western, jungle, etc.), which also helped to make each dance different and cinematic. You don't have to find the men arousing to enjoy their performances (although thousands of screaming women would say it helps).
What doesn't work: Alex Pettyfer. I'm not sure what Soderbergh was thinking getting this guy, but he has the acting prowess of Kristen Stewart. And not to mention his sister in the movie, played by Cody Horn (who's father was the president of Warner Brothers). She plays a large role in the film, and sucks the life out of the movie and everyone around her. There's one scene where she goes to the revue to watch her brother perform out of disbelief and starts "getting into" Channing Tatum's skills. I put 'getting into' in quotes, because she has this same plain, dumb face on the entire time - I had no idea what she was supposed to be feeling in that moment.
Magic Mike is a pretty typical story told in a unique setting. Reminiscent of P.T. Anderson's Boogie Nights (though a far lesser picture than that), it's the story of a guy trying to make it big in an underground world. Besides some of the acting and patches of slow-moving dialogue (usually featuring Cody Horn), I'd say it's a pretty solid Soderbergh effort. It's less wild than the hype will have you believe, and for the guys, let it be noted that within the first ten minutes of the movie Olivia Munn is topless.
Rating: B-
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