COMEDY; MA, 1hr 46min

STARRING: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane (voice)

Tart as lemon pie, Ted is a riotous, wisecracking fairytale with a soft spot for a chubby, smart-mouthed, CGI toy. While the premise of a lonely little boy wishing his teddy bear into life is tailor-made whimsy, the execution is classy and sharp: 27 years down the track, that little boy is rental-car company lazybones John Bennett (Wahlberg), and he and the bong-inhaling, beer-loving, omnipresent Ted (gruffly voiced by director and co-writer MacFarlane) are still an item.

Having clocked his 15 minutes of fame, the magical bear is now kicking back in happy slothfulness, to the mounting irritation of John’s sorely tested girl, Lori (Kunis). After four years, she’s still mad about the boy, but his bestie furball and their perpetual arrested development? Not so much. It’s time for Ted to find work and move out, and for she and John to move on. In theory, at least.

Family Guy creator MacFarlane hits a home run with this crazy concept right from its opening scene. The Other Guys’ Wahlberg and broadstroke comedy were already an inspired combo. But it’s the tough-talking, heart-tugger bear who toddles off with the zesty show. —Andiee Paviour

Andiee's Rating: ***1/2

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