If you thought you’d seen it all in Ted, you haven’t. Welcome to Ted 2. Ted (voice of Seth MacFarlane) and Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth) are married and life is hard for this young couple. They turn to the one thing that they believe will save any failing marriage: They decide they want to have a child.
The complications of a human woman and a stuffed bear getting pregnant are obvious, but MacFarlane and company will make sure you know that. Getting a donor proves to be challenging as well — Tom Brady is not ready to just volunteer. So the couple turns to adoption. While going through the process, the government starts to take issue and Ted is back on the radar again when the courts determine that he should be classified as property rather than a human being.
Despite Ted’s marriage being annulled and his legal status as property declared, Ted and John (Mark Wahlberg) won’t stop fighting for Ted’s classification as a human; they are “thunder buddies” for life.
They seek legal counsel and end up with a young attorney, fresh out of law school and ready to fight with them. She sets out to do this pro bono work from a “higher” state of mind than most attorneys, which is part of the reason that John and Ted were drawn to her — that, and of course her name: Samantha L. Jackson (Amanda Seyfried), which leads to giggles and references to actor Samuel L. Jackson.
Yes, Ted caught us all by surprise in 2012. The bear that looked so sweet and innocent was brought to life in all its foulmouthed, drug-ingesting and sex-crazed glory. But that was 2012, and that was a surprise. It had us laughing, though needing a shower immediately after viewing with all the vulgar actions, thoughts and dialogue. Could a sequel hold up when we knew what we were getting? I’m sad to answer that question with a no.
With any sequel, viewers are looking for a return to what they liked from the first goround but here the spark that existed in the original just flames out. The special nature of Ted as a friend and thunder buddy drifts from memory quickly.
It felt like attempts to humanize Ted for the story were just utter failures. An early domestic fight between Tami-Lynn and Ted wanders for way too much time before delivering a punchline of any nature. The battle that played out before me onscreen felt way too real and disturbing, and made me somewhat uncomfortable. Maybe I’m too sensitive, and no, Ted doesn’t have to exhibit a social conscience, but that uncomfortable feeling could have been avoided with better timing.
This film devolves into a caricature of itself, going after sexually charged and vulgar jokes that lack the true imagination I had hoped to experience.
While I found Ted 2 to be a far cry from the crazy, vulgarity-laced adult comedy of the original, it does have its moments. The best jokes arrive with the guest stars. Tom Brady’s sequences made me laugh and were not at all deflating (wink, wink), and a scene that seems totally out of place with Liam Neeson gets nice closure — make sure you stay through the credits for the end of the joke.
The original still remains a very funny film in my book. I would love to see Ted in a series of shorts, as I think the minds behind the character are extremely funny and well-trained to do adult humor.
Unfortunately, Ted 2 stands as a bloated film that lacks stuffing in the comedy department.
Ted 2
Rated: R
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried,
voice of Seth MacFarlane
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Grade: C