Review: Ted 2

Posted on June 26, 2015August 15, 2019 by Tommy North

Back in 2012 Seth MacFarlane introduced us to a foul mouthed teddy bear simply named “Ted”. It was MacFarlane’s first venture onto the big screen. The film starred Mark Wahlburg, Mila Kunis, and MacFarlane adding his signature voice to Ted. The film was a success was audiences bringing in over 500 Million worldwide. Critically it did pretty decently with it currently standing at 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. With all of this success, a sequel was a no brainer.

Skip forward to 2014. Riding the success of Ted, Seth MacFarlane gave us his second big screen release: A Million Ways to Die in the West. With MacFarlane placing himself in the lead role opposite Charlize Theron, the film didn’t perform as many had hoped. With a production budget of forty million dollars, the film only grossed 43 million. Take into account what it took to advertise the film, it ended up losing a lot of money. The film was also panned by critics only receiving 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. This was a big bump in the road for MacFarlane, and people began to question if a Ted sequel is what we really needed.

Skip forward one more year. It’s 2015 and Ted 2 opens this weekend. A lot of eyes are on this film, it could potentially be the biggest comedy of the Summer. Poetically, the film tackles the issue of civil rights and what makes a person a person. What makes it poetic is that the film is opening on one of the biggest days in US history regarding civil rights. If you haven’t read the news, gay marriage is now legal for the entire United States. So while America takes another big step forward to equality, Ted must take a step forward to prove he is a person. Let’s get into this review!

In Ted 2 “Life has changed drastically for thunder buddies John (Mark Wahlberg), now a bachelor, and best pal Ted (Seth MacFarlane), now married to the woman (Jessica Barth) of his dreams. Problems arise when the couple decide to adopt a child, but the law declares Ted to be property and not a person. Angry and dejected, the lovably foul mouthed teddy bear must now seek legal help from a young lawyer (Amanda Seyfried) and a legendary, civil-rights attorney (Morgan Freeman) to get the justice he deserves.”

One of my few complaints about the first Ted was that it seemed to lack direction. It was a random sequence of events with a very thin plot stringing it all together. Where Ted failed, Ted 2 makes up for. Ted 2 is very story driven. There is a plot that flows with a pretty good pace. Not perfect, but it’s an improvement over its predecessor. The inclusion of Amanda Seyfried and the farewell to Mila Kunis was surprisingly welcomed. Where in the first movie Lori almost seemed like an antagonist to the fun of the film, Samantha fits right in with Ted and John. They’re on the same page about a number of things so her inclusion just feels natural. When they explained Lori’s absence in the film, it made perfect sense.

Another strength of the film was the writing. Not just the comedy, but there are some scenes in this film where the writing feels motivating, sad and cute. It hits a lot of emotional beats. Also look forward to plenty of cameos. The trailers kept a lot secret, so you will genuinely be surprised when you see a couple of faces pop up. As a matter of fact, the movie kept a lot of the best jokes out of the trailers as well. The scope of the film seems much larger. The story is more important, they visit more places, interact with more characters. The same MacFarlane comedy is still in play in this movie.

Now, on the other hand there are a few negatives about the film. It’s opening scene wasn’t strong. The movie takes a while to find it’s footing, so the first few jokes really seem forced. Like I briefly mentioned before, the pacing isn’t perfect. You’ll be rushed into scenes and pulled away from them. It sort of feels like you’re being tugged in four directions. Another weakness are the antagonists of the film. They have the absolute most boring scenes, and a returning antagonist has an ongoing gag/catch phrase that was funny once, but quickly got old. A few ongoing jokes came up again a few too many times, but not nearly as lame as that one. Something happens to John towards the end of the film, and it gets handled almost too obviously. There wasn’t much impact or emotion in the scene because you in the back of your mind, you know how it will turn out.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. It has a number of faults, but there are plenty of fun moments. If you’re also a fan of MacFarlane’s comedy, this will be for you. If you’ve grown tired of it, you may want to skip this one because it doesn’t bring much more to the table. It builds upon the success of the first film very well though. You won’t hear many people say this, but I think this was a better put together film than the first. What’s next for Ted and John? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.