More of the same!
In the summer of 2012, an adorable, crude, foulmouthed teddy bear took the world by storm. With his classic furry good looks, wit, charm and untouchable swag, an unlikely leading man skyrocketed Universal Pictures with an original comedy about a stoner and his best friend. Grossing over $500 million, the unexpected “sleeper hit†proved stupidity can sometimes pay off.
In big ways, too. How big? Well, let’s just say execs at 21st Century Fox are still kicking each other in the nuts for having passed on this.
The genius behind this piece, well, Seth MacFarlane. You know, the man behind that other successful project full of stupidity titled FAMILY GUY. Back on his raunch recliner of hilarity, he returns as writer, director and voice star of TED 2.
In the years since we last saw John (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted, they’re both still living up the dream in Boston. Although John is now a bachelor, Ted has settled down with Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), the skanky girl of his dreams. As marital problems start to take a toll on them, the newlyweds decide to have a baby to save their marriage.
Hope comes crashing down when the state of Massachusetts declares Ted to be not a person, but property, therefore, ineligible to adopt. A shit-storm of personal atrocities ensues, pisses the shit out of Ted and John, and so starts a civil rights journey. A long, bumpy one at that. One that reunites them with sketchy characters from the past (Donny – Giovanni Ribisi), and new ones (Samantha – Amanda Seyfried and Patrick Meighan – Morgan Freeman) who wind up adding to their lives more than they expected.
Digging deeper within MacFarlane’s bag of racy comedy, TED 2 ups the ante as it touches on a subject-matter all too familiar during contemporary times. (The acceptance of one another no matter how different) Sillier story than its first flick, harsh, ball-busting jokes and odd chemistry between Wahlberg and a CGI teddy bear continues to simultaneously charm and hilariously disgust. But that’s part of the fun, along-side some of our favorite deranged characters from the past and a couple of cameos, which provide a unique form of enjoyment.
Although the argument can be made about it being the same flick with a brief nipple twist, TED 2 doesn’t necessarily suffer the dreaded S word curse. It lives up to what it’s supposed be and/or do. Simply put, take us into a whacky world we would all love to be part of. With added pressure seeing as its predecessor raked in some serious cash, respect, and love… TED 2 does present a bit of a challenge. High expectations from both ends (the studio and audiences) is where the battle between souls and film stand divided. The first time around no one knew what was coming their way, now, they do. And with bits-and-pieces of more drama this time around than the last one, the link between the two will determine if it loses its grip upon its fan-base, or not.
Overall, TED 2 isn’t a bad movie. Personally, I enjoyed the magic I saw back in 2012 a lot more than I did this one, but it doesn’t take away the fact that TED 2 still had the capability to make me laugh more than once. Granting it my respect and full recommendation for those who enjoy hard comedy and gags.
__________
Grade: B / Genre: Comedy and Sequel / Rated: R / Run Time: 1 Hr. 55 Min.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Jessica Barth, and Morgan Freeman
Directed by: Seth MacFarlane
