Ted

It came as no surprise that when Seth MacFarlane was making his directorial debut, that he would bring on board the main composer from the show Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show. What is a surprise is that while this is a score for a buddy comedy, it has one of the most explored narrative for the genre. While most of the films in the genre are just tracked in songs with the composer doing little to fill in the gaps, Ted proceeds to do the opposite and has Walter Murphy's music fill out the edges to the movie. We are treated to the main theme in the song Everybody Needs a Friend, a sort of playful jazz tune sung by Norah Jones. The theme while primarily used to denote the two friends finds itself in a slow dance version in the cue Rex's Party. Though it finds itself flitting itself in and out of the cues its biggest and saddest rendition is when it collides with the other theme, the one for the wish, in the cue She's your Thunder Buddy Now. The theme for the wish is as light in progression as one would expect and is important later on in the score, like in Lori's Wish. Though the real big surprise is the John Williams Raiders reference in Ted is Captured, which actually leads into a string of cues where Walter Murphy reaches near Williamesque proportions. These cues: The Car Chase, Climbing the Tower, and Saving Ted all reach that level of action music and sentimentality that it catches the listener off guard. This is a comedy where the score is given precedent over the tracked in material which is big and jazzy, slow and romantic, and has some nice action music tossed in so that it feels like a unique experience. It makes one wonder why Walter Murphy hasn't thought about expanding his career into film because the man clearly demonstrated the talent for it. That aside this is the surprise score summer and one that shouldn't be pushed aside.