A Fuzzy Sense of Absurdity

Anthropomorphism has always played a huge role in storytelling throughout time. A flexible sense of human curiosity? A case of wish-fulfillment? Whatever the reason, people have always wondered what the world would be like if its non-human constituents attained personhood. In the case of Ted, the new raunchy comedy from "Family Guy" creator Seth Macfarlane, we revisit this aforementioned theme once more with the vitalization of a plush teddy bear. 

During Christmas of 1985, friendless 8-year old Bostonian John Bennett (Bretton Manley) makes a wish for his toy bear to come to life. When it does, "Ted," as he's known, becomes a national sensation, inspiring wonder and surprise in people everywhere and even appearing on late night talk shows. However, while John and Ted remain best friends, the rest of world soon loses interest, and 27 years later, 35-year old John (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (now voiced by Seth Macfarlane) are just like any other regular guys. John has a near-dead-end job as a menial sales clerk at a rent-a-car site, and he regularly lazes around, drinking beer, watching TV, and smoking pot with his fluffy, foul-mouthed, now baritone-voiced roommate. John's one saving grace, however, is his girlfriend of 4 years, Lori Collins (Mila Kunis), a PR exec who reluctantly tolerates her boyfriend's slothful, childish lifestyle when not escaping advances from her lecherous boss, Rex (Joel McHale). However, when she realizes that Ted is squashing John's sense of maturity and growth, her patience slowly begins to wither away, and soon enough John must accept a touch choice: it's either Lori or Ted. 

The initial, fantastical premise of the story may remind some viewers of other similarly-themed movies: Pinocchio (1942), Donnie Darko (2001), and Mel Gibson's recent dramedy, The Beaver (2011). However, unlike the respectively more serious films, Ted is raunchy and humorous, and not unlike "Family Guy" and "American Dad" (his other animated TV series), Macfarlane's style of comedy--straight-faced surrealism, is ever-present in Ted. Macfarlane, known for his ludicrously intelligent, unapologetically subversive and politically incorrect, socially-critical sense of humor, is an equal-opportunity offender, and his Brechtian style of occasionally uncomfortable, expectation-defying comedy is also ever-present in Ted as well.    

In addition, fans of Macfarlane will also find many other "Family Guy"-like tropes in Ted: cutaways and random digressions, outlandish fight sequences (sorry, no flashy Broadway style musical numbers though), pop-cultural celebrity bashing, homages to the 1980s (especially Flash Gordon and Star Wars), and, of course, fart jokes. That being said, Ted also veers dangerously far away from Macfarlane's unique style of humor and crosses over into the contemporary, commonly-covered ground of Apatow-Like Comedy; comedy that is rife with gross, outrageous gags mitigated by earnest sentiment, intentional bad singing and dancing, and verbally shocking dialogue. Thus, as a stand-alone film, it is hard to judge the quality of Ted. 

However, fans of either style will find broad strokes of both in Ted, and it is thus likely that many viewers will be pleased with Ted as a casual adult, summertime comedy. Everyone else, though, will probably view it as just a bunch of plushy fluff and ignore it altogether. 

Providing a sufficient amount of genuine laughs, though, I give Ted a 6.5/10. 

Movies To See That Are Based On Real Life Stories

Fact is oftentimes scarier than fiction, and it also makes for great storytelling. The following list is of movies to see that are based on true stories.

Name of Movie                                            Who/What Is It Based On? 
1) Midnight Express (1978)                          Billy Hayes
2) Last Temptation of Christ (1988)             Jesus Christ, Savior of Mankind
3) Serpico (1973)                                          Frank Serpico
4) The Last Emperor (1987)                         Puyi, Last Chinese Emperor
5) Of Gods and Men (2011)                         Trappist monks of Algeria
6) Invictus (2009)                                         Nelson Mandela & Francois Pienaar
7) Julie & Julia (2009)                                  Julia Child & Julie Powell
8) Into The Wild (2007)                               Chris McCandless/Alex Supertramp
9) Alexander Nevsky (1938)                       Alexander Nevsky, 13th Century Russian Prince
10) Monster (2003)                                      Aileen Wuornos
11) Andrei Rublev (1966)                           Andrei Rublev, 15th Century Russian Painter
12) Boys Don't Cry (1999)                          Brandon Teena
13) Motorcycle Diaries (2004)                    Alberto Granado & Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (Che)
14) Catch Me If You Can (2002)                Frank Abagnale Jr.
15) Shine (1996)                                         David Helfgott
16) The Social Network (2010)                  Mark Zuckerberg
17) The Fighter (2010)                                Micky Ward & Dicky Eklund
18) Ivan The Terrible (1944)                       Ivan The Terrible, 16th Century Russian Leader
19) The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)        Jeanne d'Arc, 15th Century French Warrior and Saint
20) Moneyball (2011)                                  Billy Beane
21) Marie Antoinette (2006)                        Marie Antoinette, 18th Century French Queen
22) Young Mr. Lincoln (1931)                    Abraham Lincoln; Sixteenth U.S. President (And Lawyer)
23) The Untouchables (1987)                      Al Capone, Jimmy Malone, and Elliot Ness
24) Public Enemies (2009)                          John Dilinger
25) Zodiac (2007)                                        The Zodiac (Serial) Killer & Robert Graysmith
26) Lawrence of Arabia (1962)                    T.S. Lawrence
27) Apollo 13 (1995)                                   Astronauts of Apollo 13: Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Jack
                                                                     Swigert, Ken Mattingly, Gene Kranz
28) A Beautiful Mind (2001)                       John Nash, Mathematician
29) A Man For All Seasons (1966)             Sir Thomas More, English Writer And Catholic Martyr
30) Patton (1970)                                        George S. Patton; American WWII General
31) Dog Day Afternoon (1975)                  Sonny Wortzik
32) All The President's Men (1976)            Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein, American Reporters
33) Milk (2008)                                           Harvey Milk, 1970s San Franciscan Mayor
34) Frost/Nixon (2008)                               David Frost and Richard Nixon, Reporter and President
                                                                    (Respectively)
35) Raging Bull (1980)                               Jake La Motta, Boxer
36) Goodfellas (1990)                                 Jimmy Conway, Henry Hill, and Tommy DeVito
37) Schindler's List (1993)                          Oskar Schindler
38) The Aviator (2004)                               Howard Hughes, American Flight Expert And Director
39) Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)             George M. Cohan, American Singer/Dancer/Songwriter
40) Ray (2004)                                           Ray Charles, American Singer/Songwriter
41) Amadeus (1984)                                   Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian Classical Musician
42) Gandhi (1982)                                      Mahatma Gandhi, Indian Non-Violent Activist

Movie Recommendation Categories By Genre Part XVI

The following series of films are classified under:
Suspense, Thriller, and/or Horror 


Suspense/Thrillers:


Political Thriller
1) The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
2) State of Play (2009)
3) The Ides of March (2011)
4) The Constant Gardener (2005)
5) The Debt (2011)
6) North By Northwest (1959)
7) 39 Steps (1935)

Psychological/Sexual Thriller
1) Black Swan (2010)
2) Marnie (1964)
3) Memento (2001)
4) Inception (2010)
5) Mulholland Drive (2000)
6) Gaslight (1944)
7) Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
8) Identity (2003)
9) Knife In The Water (1962)
10) Dressed To Kill (1980)
11) Persona (1966)
12) Come and See (1986)
13) Funny Games (2007)
14) Diabolique (1955)
15) Shutter Island (2010)
16) Psycho (1960)
17) Blue Velvet (1986)
18) The Dark Knight (2008)
19) Vertigo (1958)

Espionage Thriller
1) The Debt (2011)
2) 39 Steps (1935)
3) Notorious (1946)

Show Biz Thriller 
1) Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? (1963)
2) Black Swan (2010)
3) Mulholland Drive (2000)

Romantic Thriller
1) Match Point (2005)
2) Marnie (1964)
3) Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Serial Killer/Mass Murder Thrillers
1) Psycho (1960)
2) Monster (2003)
3) We Need To Talk About Kevin (2012)
4) From Hell (2001)
5) Carrie (1976)
6) High Tension (2003)
7) Zodiac (2007)
8) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
9) Silence of the Lambs (1991)
10) Night of the Hunter (1954)

Gangster Thriller 
1) Key Largo (1948)
2) Drive (2011)

Man Against Nature Thriller
1) The Grey (2012)
2) The Birds (1963)
3) Jaws (1975)
4) Contagion (2011)
5) Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
6) Cloverfield (2008)
7) Black Death (2010)

Murder/Disappearance Thriller
1) The Third Man (1948)
2) Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
3) The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
4) Incendies (2011)
5) The Lady Vanishes (1938)
6) From Hell (2002)
7) Strangers On A Train (1951)
8) Vertigo (1958)
9) Rear Window (1954)
10) Night of the Hunter (1955)
11) Psycho (1960)
12) The Strangers (2009)
13) Don't Look Now (1972)
14) Silence of the Lambs (1991)
15) We Need To Talk About Kevin (2012)
16) Match Point (2005)
17) Identity (2003)
18) Dressed To Kill (1981)
19) Gaslight (1944)

20) Funny Games (2007) 

21) Diabolique (1955) 

22) Shutter Island (2010) 

23) Psycho (1960) 

Science Fiction Thriller

1) The Source Code (2011) 

2) Inception (2010) 

3) Aliens (1986) 

4) The Dark Knight (2008) 

Horror
1) The Birds (1963)
2) Jaws (1975)
3) Cloverfield (2008)
4) Black Death (2010)
5) Psycho (1960)
6) The Strangers (2008)
7) The Sixth Sense (1999)
8) Aliens (1986)
9) Rosemary's Baby (1968)
10) Dead Snow (2009)
11) Don't Look Now (1972)
12) Carrie (1976)
13) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
14) Nosferatu (1922)
15) High Tension (2003)
16) Frankenstein (1931)
17) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
18) Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Movie Recommendation Categories By Genre Part XV

The following films are classified under:
Action/Adventure


Action-Comedy 
1) Kick-Ass (2010)
2) Hancock (2008)
3) Inglorious Basterds (2009)
4) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)
5) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
6) Pineapple Express (2008)
7) Tropic Thunder (2008)

Comic Book Action Movies
1) Kick-Ass (2010)
2) The Dark Knight (2008)
3) Hancock (2008)
4) Wanted (2008)
5) Thor (2011)

Shoot 'Em Up Bang 'Em Up Action Pictures
1) Kick-Ass (2010)
2) District 9 (2009)
3) Star Trek (2009)
4) The Dark Knight (2008)
5) Sherlock Holmes (2009)
6) Top Gun (1986)
7) Avatar (2009)
8) Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol (2011)
9) Die Hard (1988)
10) Thor (2011)
11) Vantage Point (2008)
12) Pineapple Express (2008)
13) Public Enemies (2009)
14) Taken (2009)
15) The A-Team (2010)
16) Quantum of Solace (2008)
17) Inception (2010)
18) S.A.L.T. (2010)
19) Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
20) Casino Royale (2006)


Dramatic/War-Related Action Films
1) District 9 (2009)
2) Spartacus (1960)
3) The Grey (2012)
4) Dances With Wolves (1990)
5) No Country For Old Men (2007)
6) True Grit (2010)
7) Public Enemies (2009)
8) High Sierra (1941)
9) White Heat (1949)
10) Scarface (1983)
11) The Hurt Locker (2009)
12) Limitless (2011)
13) City of God (2002)
14) Ben-Hur (1959)
15) Seven Samurai (1954)
16) Dirty Harry (1971)
17) The African Queen (1951)
18) Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
19) In The Line of Fire (1993)
20) The French Connection (1971)
21) Apocalypse Now (1979)
22) Gladiator (2000)
23) Black Death (2010)
24) 2012 (2009)
25) Unforgiven (1992)

Western Action Movies
1) Dances With Wolves (1990)
2) No Country For Old Men (2007)
3) True Grit (2010)
4) 3:10 To Yuma (2007)
5) Unforgiven (1992)
6) The Wild Bunch (1969)

Gangster Action Movies
1) Public Enemies (2009)
2) Scarface (1983)
3) High Sierra (1941)
4) White Heat (1949)
5) City of God (2002)
6) Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
7) Drive (2011)

Science Fiction/Fantasy Action Films
1) District 9 (2009)
2) Star Trek (2009)
3) The Dark Knight (2008)
4) Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
5) Avatar (2009)
6) The Source Code (2011)
7) Aliens (1986)
8) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
9) Thor (2011)
10) Inception (2010)
11) Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
12) Limitless (2011)
13) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
14) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
15) Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
16) King Kong (1933)
17) Mad Max (1979)

Martial Arts/Samurai Films
1) Seven Samurai (1954)
2) Yojimbo (1961)

Swashbuckler/Worldly Adventure Flicks 
1) The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
2) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
3) Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)
4) Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
5) Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom (1984)
6) Indiana Jones: Last Crusade (1989)
7) Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
8) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
9) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
10) Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
11) African Queen (1951)
12) The Grey (2012)

Historical Action Movies 
1) Gladiator (2000)
2) Spartacus (1960)
3) Sherlock Holmes (2009)
4) Dances With Wolves (1990)
5) The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
6) True Grit (2010)
7) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
8) Black Death (2010)
9) Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)
10) 3:10 To Yuma (2007)
11) Ben-Hur (1959)
12) Unforgiven (1992)
13) African Queen (1951)
14) The Wild Bunch (1969)

Movie Recommendation Categories By Genre Part XIV

The following series of films are classified under:
Science Fiction & Fantasy 


Science Fiction:
1) District 9 (2009)
2) Star Trek (2009)
3) Avatar (2009)
4) The Dark Knight (2008)
5) E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
6) The Source Code (2011)
7) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
8) Aliens (1986)
9) Limitless (2011)
10) King Kong (1931)
11) Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
12) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2003)
13) Blade Runner (1982)
14) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
15) Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
16) The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
17) Inception (2010)
18) A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Fantasy:
1) Field of Dreams (1989)
2) 17 Again (2009)
3) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
4) Midnight In Paris (2011)
5) Thor (2011)
6) Brigadoon (1954)
7) Volver (2006)
8) The Wizard of Oz (1939)
9) It's A Wonderful Life (1947)
10) A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
11) Edward Scissorhands (1990)
12) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
13) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
14) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
15) Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
16) The Truman Show (1998)

Movie Recommendation Categories By Genre Part XIII

The following series of films are classified under:
Disaster, Short, Experimental, And Others 


1) 2012 (2009) (Disaster)
2) The Road (2009) (Disaster)
3) Contagion (2011) (Disaster)
4) An Andalusian Dog (1929) (Short/Experimental)
5) Olympia (1938) (Propaganda)
6) Fantasia (1940) (Concert)

Movie Recommendation Categories By Genre Part XII

The following series of films are classified under:
Romance 


1) My Fair Lady (1964)
2) 500 Days of Summer (2009)
3) Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
4) Midnight In Paris (2011)
5) The Holiday (2006)
6) Love Actually (2003)
7) Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
8) The Ugly Truth (2009)
9) Lost In Translation (2003)
10) It Happened One Night (1934)
11) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)
12) The Philadelphia Story (1942)
13) Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936)
14) Bringing Up Baby (1938)
15) The Apartment (1960)
16) The Graduate (1967)
17) Annie Hall (1977)
18) Manhattan (1978)
19) Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
20) Broken Embraces (2009)
21) Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)
22) Blue Valentine (2011)
23) The Lady Eve (1941)
24) The Accidental Tourist (1988)
25) A Room With A View (1986)
26) A Place In The Sun (1951)
27) Jezebel (1938)
28) All That Heaven Allows (1955)
29) Last Year In Marienbad (1961)
30) In The Realm of Senses (1976)
31) In The Mood For Love (2002)
32) The Remains of the Day (1993)
33) West Side Story (1961)
34) Dangerous Liaisons (1989)
35) Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1959)
36) Cruel Intentions (1999)
37) Breathless (1960)
38) Gone With The Wind (1939)
39) Rules of the Game (1938)
40) Casablanca (1943)
41) Dr. Zhivago (1965)
42) Wuthering Heights (1939)
43) Adam's Rib (1949)
44) From Here To Eternity (1953)
45) 17 Again (2009)