Ted - It's no picnic when your best friend's a foul-mouthed teddy

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane’s feature film debut Ted gives a rude, irreverent and, in places, very funny new spin to the buddy comedy genre with its tale of a Boston slacker’s relationship with his best friend - a stuffed teddy bear magically brought to life by a childhood wish.

When this miracle occurred, back in 1985, Ted (voiced by MacFarlane himself) quickly became a worldwide media sensation - a front-page staple and a regular guest on the Johnny Carson show. Decades later the hullabaloo has died down, and the now not-so-cuddly Ted has turned into a foul-mouthed, cynical has-been. He and Mark Wahlberg’s grown-up John are still inseparable companions, although now they spend their time smoking dope, drinking beer and generally goofing-off - to the increasing irritation of John’s long-suffering girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis), who’d like to know when her boyfriend is finally going to grow up.

Of course, we’ve seen types like John and Ted before - they’re the man-child reluctant to embrace adult responsibilities and the deadbeat pal who holds the hero back in life. Yet turning one of the pair into a teddy bear is a stroke of comic genius. Nimbly brought to life by means of computer animation, Ted is both crass and endearing - scurrilous, boorish and decidedly politically incorrect, yet somehow also sweet (take that Seth Rogen and Adam Sandler). True, the film is uneven - Kunis is largely wasted and the story runs out of steam towards the end - but when John and Ted are on a disreputable roll it’s also downright hilarious.

On general release from Wednesay 1st August.

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A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.