Friday Flicks: Will Ted Catapault Seth MacFarlane into the Big Leagues?

Grab some popcorn and check out the movies you should see (or avoid) this weekend.

  • Share
  • Read Later

Ted

[youtube=http://youtu.be/9fbo_pQvU7M]

At 38, Seth MacFarlane is Hollywood’s golden child: the highest-paid screenwriter in television history thanks to his five-year, $100 million contract with Fox for his hit animated TV series Family Guy (and its siblings and spinoffs, American Dad and The Cleveland Show). Now, he’s extending his ambitions into film with Ted, a live action/CGI-animated comedy  starring Mark Wahlberg as John Bennett, a grown man dealing with his teddy bear who came to life thanks to a childhood wish and never went away (MacFarlane, of course, voices Ted — as well as directing and doing a few other things).

But does it work in the eyes of the critics? Rather ironically, The New Yorker, who lavished so many words on MacFarlane in a recent profile, isn’t entirely impressed. “It’s the comedy that never comes to life — the heavy-handed gags all but invite a laugh track — and a sentimental dénouement at Fenway Park is done by number.” (The Red Sox just can’t get a break this year, can they?). Time Out New York decides to take the “low-brow as art” approach.”Feel free to shake your head all you want: You can’t overestimate how funny it is to watch a stuffed bear behave boorishly, go on coke binges and engage in the greatest man-versus-plush-toy fistfight ever committed to celluloid—or how impressive it is that MacFarlane actually milks the movie’s high-concept premise for emotional resonance.” And the Hollywood Reporter cuddles Ted as if it were its own bear: “Not too many films serve up laughs that just keep on rolling with regularity from beginning to end, but Seth MacFarlane’s directorial debut does so and without any feeling of strain.”

TIME MAGAZINE: Is Seth MacFarlane Getting Serious?

Magic Mike

[youtube=http://youtu.be/eMU7s6cwxEM]

Tagline: Work all day. Work it all night.

It’s becoming increasingly clear what a breakout year Channing Tatum is having. Consider: He’s starring in Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike (marking the second time they’ve hooked up this year, following the frantically fun Haywire, and continuing to make a mockery of Soderbergh’s supposed “retirement”) alongside the likes of Matthew McConaughey and it’s Tatum that TIME’s sister publication EW decided to put on its cover. Will their faith be repaid?

Tatum is indeed playing the eponymous title role and getting the cover love for one compelling reason: the movie is partially based on his own experiences as a stripper. And Mike decides to take a young dancer called The Kid (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing and teach him how to party, pick up women, and produce the goods when it comes to making money.

Encouragingly for all involved, Magic Mike is being mentioned in the same breath as the majestic Boogie Nights – nobody is suggesting it’s as good but they’re still sharing the same rarefied air – and the reviews reflect it. “Arguably the raunchiest, funniest and most enjoyably nonjudgmental American movie about selling sex since Boogie Nights, its obvious if considerably darker precursor,” says the Hollywood Reporter. Time Out New York also runs with the Boogie Nights talk: “If Magic Mike doesn’t quite attain the hedonistic stature of twin cautionary tales Boogie Nights and the campy Showgirls, it can’t be faulted for wanting to satisfy on a deeper level.” But the AP singles out the lead for special praise: “[Tatum is] just mesmerizing: confident, creative, acrobatic and, above all, seductive. ‘Cause that’s the whole point.”

MORE: 21 Jump Street, and How to Turn a TV Show into a Movie

People Like Us

[youtube=http://youtu.be/LomUmAONUpo]

Tagline: All roads lead home.

If the term “dramedy” makes you cringe – and quite frankly, why wouldn’t it – will you have to reassess in light of People Like Us? Another movie inspired by true events this week (let’s all be grateful that Ted is 100% fiction), Alex Kurtzman’s debut feature stars Chris Pine as Sam, a salesman whose latest deal falls apart on the same day his life does with the sudden death of his father. Reluctantly playing the role of the dutiful son, Sam returns home to put his father’s affairs in order and reconnect with his family. And that’s where the waters get muddied even further, with Sam discovering a secret that probably warrants a spoiler alert so we’ll just leave it there.

In a solid week of new releases, the critical reaction to this movie is arguably even higher than your other options. “People Like Us is a certifiable adult drama built atop sturdy thematic supports, a rare enough item these days,” notes the Village Voice. “People Like Us is informed by real feelings uncorked like a lost bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon hidden away in a dark corner of a private wine cellar” is the poetic verdict delivered by the New York Observer. And though the Hollywood Reporter doesn’t drink the kool-aid (or possibly Cabernet) with quite the same gusto (“As overcranked as it is — the film is directed as if it were an action drama, with two or three times more cuts than necessary — People Like Us has a persuasive emotional pull at its heart that’s hard to deny”) it’s clear that Kurtzman is a name to watch.

LIST: TIME’s Top 10 Films of 2011

NewsFeed’s Flicks Pick: There’s little to choose between the week’s impressive releases so your personal preferences should dictate whether you want to watch male strippers, a teddy bear or a family drama.

  1. Previous
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3