In Boston, Massachusetts of 1985, John Bennett is a lonely boy who can’t make any friends. One Christmas, he receives a teddy bear from his parents and immediately grows attached to it. John names him Teddy, and wishes one night that Ted could be alive; inexplicably, a shooting star passing overhead causes his wish to come true and Ted is alive the next morning, much to the fear and eventual jubilation of his parents. Due to his sentience, Ted becomes a celebrity for a short period of time.

27 years later in 2012, John works at a car rental place and has continued a strong bond with Ted, which his girlfriend Lori doesn’t like as she thinks their friendship, which includes mass consumption of alcohol and drugs, is keeping John mentally a child. On their four year anniversary, John and Lori come home to find Ted with a quintet of hookers…