Does Seth MacFarlane smell like a filthy hobo? You have to wonder when he has time to take care of basic human needs like eat, sleep, bathe when he has so much on his plate. He has Family Guy (Yay!), American Dad! (also a solid yay) and The Cleveland Show (not so much a yay) running Sundays on Fox. We know he has a side gig doing some signing, he has to actually do work to get these shows on the air and there’s whichever celebrity roast he’s emcee of. So with such a fairly packed schedule, how does he go about staying fresh smelling while busting out Ted?

While we ponder that, let’s dive into Ted. Save the suspense as I named it my “Comedy of 2012″! I never laughed so hard at a movie since possibly the first Jackass. The basic premise is that Mark Wahlberg‘s character, John Bennett, was so unlikable as a kid he had to wish for a BFF. His parents wrapped up ole Ted for his Christmas gift and a new love was born. John made that faithful wish during the falling of a star, next day Ted was a living, breathing bear (stuffed).

Ted gets a blast of celebrity once his secret is out, hell the fuzzy fellow gets to meet Johnny Carson! As with all quickly famous entities, Ted becomes a somewhat forgotten relic but, as the narrator says, he never leaves John’s side. Flash forward to the present day and the two are still inseparable. Instead of playing such quaint games like Cowboys and Indians or Candyland, these boys while away their time playing “Which reefer is this?” and “Who ate all the Funyon’s?” The real tragedy of the situation is John dating Lori, played by the #1 pick in the lesbian fantasy league, Mila Kunis.

Lori accepts John’s somewhat boyish nature but events force her to convince John to push Ted into his own place. The separation between “Thunder Buddies” test the relationships between all three and in ways we may not have seen coming. Oh and Giovanni Ribisi plays the best creepy stalker ever!   But who does he stalk, eh?

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The film appeals to fans of Family Guy with Seth tackling the voice of titular character, there’s a nice bit in there where Ted asks if really sounds that much like Peter Griffin. If anyone heads into the movie being dead set against ‘Family Guy b.s’, well sadly they’re likely not going to like Ted. For those with a funny bone or a sense of humor though, they’ll get a great kick out of Ted. The pranks fall flat in a couple of scenes but all and you can’t go wrong watching the flick. The big props go to Wahlberg and Kunis for acting so well towards that fake bear. Go back and watch some of the features and you’ll understand.

The best extra with the blu ray was a decent look at how Seth and co. choreographed the fight scene between John and Ted. Give it up to Marky Mark guys! The rest of the features are a little light for a big budget comedy with a gag reel, alternate\deleted scenes and commentary. At least it comes with Ultraviolet.

Bottom line is if you like laughing, Family Guy or just staring at Mila Kunis, pick this movie up! When you do, skip the theatrical version and go straight to “unrated”. Thank me later.

Many thanks to Universal for sending over a review copy of the movie!