Ted 2 (Review)

Ted 2 (2015)

Comedy

Directed By: Seth MacFarlane

Back in 2012 Seth Macfarlane (The creator of the wildly popular Family Guy) decided to make the jump from T.V. to film with his debut motion picture Ted. A raunchy stoner comedy about a kid who wishes his teddy bear would come to life and what happens twenty years later when it actually does. It's a rather genius plot and although the first film was funny, I felt it was a missed opportunity to make a great movie. It made a boat load of cash though so a sequel was inevitable, and after decent critical success it seemed everyone was okay with it. I wouldn't say I was overly excited for this movie, but I definitely was curious to see if it could correct some of the mistakes he made the first time around and I think he did. Ted 2 is in no way a great film but it definitely made me laugh and I think it stands as is most well rounded effort to date.

The plot gets a little more depth this time around as our lovable teddy bear has just gotten married to his girlfriend Tami- Lynn (Jessica Barth) and the two decide they want to have a baby. Since Ted (Seth MacFarlane) doesn't have any reproductive organs and Tami can't conceive they end up having to adopt, but there's a problem. In the eyes of the government Ted is not an actual person, he is property. Now he must go in front of a judge to try and prove that he is in fact human. All the while his best bud John (Mark Wahlberg) is in long time remission from his divorce and is having trouble getting back into the game. Ted's new circumstances become the perfect setting for the two of them to rehash their lifelong friendship and discover what they truly want from this life.

I know, it sounds way too emotional for a MacFarlane film, right? Well don't worry, even though this film adds a little more depth it is still the same old raunchy, toilet humor driven content the world has come to love form this guy. Yeah, he adds a little more humanity to the movie but in the end the It's just a compilation of cut away jokes held together by the shell of a story. This is what kills me about this guy, he creates such good comedy but his stories always seem to fall flat. He creates these amazing shells of characters and then never goes anywhere with them. This story, a guy and his living teddy bear, could be an absolutely genius level comedy but instead he just turns it into a two hour episode of one of his shows.

He was oh so close with this one though, he almost had me hooked on the story but he just tried to do too much. If this film cuts out the one useless story-line this film becomes almost a half hour shorter and about twenty times better. At a 115 minute run time there just isn't enough to keep you interested all the way through. The first hour of the movie flies by as there is great joke after great joke that will have you laughing hysterically. Then the second half comes around and while there are some good jokes scattered throughout, this is where the film loses its steam. If he had gone a little more in depth with the character development and put a little more emphasis on Ted's arch then it could have finished strong.

What do we judge comedies on though? Especially “R” rated ones, is it on how well rounded a film it is or is it how funny the film is? I tend to say the latter is the most important, if a comedic film makes me laugh a lot than it has done its most important job. Ted 2 does just that, from the opening scene right down to the last there is so much to laugh at. MacFarlane is a master joke teller, I don't think there are many people who would argue that, and the Ted franchise is one of the best platforms for him to display that humor. He also fills the movie with A-list cameos, with some of the better jokes revolving around them. It is easily his best effort yet as a film maker and it shows significant improvement over his previous work. There is actually some character and story development in this one and they utilize some great camera work to add a dramatic gravity to some scenes that ironically make them even funnier.

We could pick apart the story and the characters all day but in the end this movie is funny. Mark Wahlberg and Amanda Seyfried are fantastic in their roles and if anything, they make this movie great to look at. Macfarlane knows his audience and he caters to them perfectly, if you aren't a fan of his then this movie isn't for you. It is two hours of dirty, raunchy, drug filled, toilet humor centering on a 30+ year old man child and his talking Teddy bear. If that doesn't sound like something that would amuse you, then save yourself the ten. I do wish he would work with a talented screen writer or get a better editor because his movies are one or two steps away from being quality work. In the end, I laughed a lot and left the theater smiling and there isn't much more I could ask for from this. Time may forget these movies but at the very least they are a fun time at the theater for you and some friends.

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!