Similar to the first film, "Ted 2" is written and directed by Seth MacFarlane, and is heavily driven by the same type of over-the-top, taken-too-far, usually-offensive comedy that has made MacFarlane's other material, such as "Family Guy," so popular. This sequel has a few laugh out loud moments and memorable funny bits, but overall the film is overly absurd and crosses the line way too often to be worth recommending for the average moviegoer.
The first film introduced audiences to a magical talking stuffed teddy bear, named Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane), who becomes best friends with his owner, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), when John is a young boy. After the film flashes forward to years later, they're still friends, getting into trouble, making sex jokes and smoking pot. In "Ted 2," Ted wants to marry and have a baby with his girlfriend, Tami-Lynn, but the government won't recognize Ted as a human being. As Ted quickly loses any rights he thought he had, he must find a way to prove in court that he is a real person.
Aside from a few differences, "Ted 2" is almost identical to the original. Mostly the same characters, similar cheap, indecent and offensive humor, and the same style of storytelling that involves a series of extreme, meant-to-be-funny bits that are scattered together. In other words, it's situational comedy involving references to pop culture, race and stereotypes, sex, drugs, etc. More times than not, these scenes feature a character getting hurt or mad about something (while cursing up a storm), hurting or offending someone else, mimicking and exaggerating something from the real world, or simply degrading themselves or others for the sake of a joke.
MacFarlane's material can be clever and wickedly funny, but it can also be trashy and unappealing. "Family Guy," "Ted," and "A Million Ways to Die in the West" all use the same formula of taking pop culture riffs and real life references and mocking them in an over-the-top way. Throw in some bad language and sex or bathroom jokes and you've got yourself a winning number in MacFarlane's mind. I'm not saying I don't still laugh at his jokes from time to time, but after a while, the material just becomes obnoxious in my opinion.
The above comments aside, no one seems to do the pop culture and real world references better. From featuring Jimmy Kimmel, to Saturday Night Live, Liam Neeson (whose appearance is hilarious), Jay Leno, Tom Brady and more, the only other film so far this year with better celebrity cameos and feeling like it's truly part of the real world is "Entourage" which had over 50 celebrity appearances. Shows like "Family Guy" do a good job as well, but for the big screen, when a film like "Ted 2" mocks the intro to "Law and Order" or plays the "Jurassic Park" theme while the characters discover a marijuana field, it's going to make more people laugh than not.
If you enjoyed Ted's big screen debut, can appreciate "Family Guy" or MacFarlane's other work, then this film will likely entertain you. There are definitely some funny moments, as well as times I found the audience around me laughing hysterically, but there are just so many repulsive, insulting, or crude comments and actions to get past. It really comes down to how much of this you can tolerate. It's the kind of film where I could see the wrong type of viewer walking out of the movie in no time at all.
Films like "Ted 2" make me wonder and question how sequels work. It's clearly not the best and most popular films that get sequels. It seems to come down to how well it did at the box office and how willing or financially capable a studio or individual is of making another film -- It's as if quality doesn't factor in at all. Or perhaps a cheap sequel would lessen the better films? Either way, there must be an audience out there for this stuff, because most of MacFarlane's material has sustained and only continued to increase.
2 out of 5 stars.
'Ted 2' is rated R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, and some drug use. Running time is 1 hour and 55 minutes. Aside from the return of MacFarlane and Wahlberg, the film also features performances from Amanda Seyfried, Morgan Freeman, Jessica Barth, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Warburton, John Carroll Lynch, John Slattery, etc.
