REVIEW: TED 2

When major Hollywood movie studios releases a comedy film, they usually take the ‘safer’ route. There is a tendency to produce more family-friendly comedy films compared to foul-mouthed adult restricted films. Movies restricted to adults could dampen ticket sales at the box-office. However, there are several instances when R-rated comedy films were a commercial and critical success. One such instance was the 2012 hit Ted starring Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane. I will be reviewing its sequel titled Ted 2.

Ted 2 sees Seth MacFarlane return as the film’s director. Mark Wahlberg also returns as the lead star. Rounding up the supporting cast are MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Jessica Barth, and Morgan Freeman. The writers include MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, and Wellesley Wild.

 
How will Ted 2 fair up to its predecessor? Do read on.

John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (voice of Seth MacFarlane)

SYNOPSIS:

The film tells the story of a man named John Bennett (Wahlberg) who grew up with a teddy bear named Ted which, through an unexplained miracle wish from the first film, can talk, interact, and do physical activities like a human being. The film begins with Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) who is about to get married with Tami-Lynn, his girlfriend from the first film. Not long into the marriage, Ted and Tami-Lynn decides to have a baby through John as a sperm donour. However, the state of Massachusetts where they reside won’t recognize Ted as a person because he is a toy. John and Ted engages a young lawyer named Samantha Jacksoon (Seyfried) to represent them in the legal battle with many funny consequences along the way.

Ted and his wife Tami-Lynn (Jessica Gerth)

SCRIPT:

Very funny and mildly interesting. It is one of those films where the ending of the story is predictable. The writing style of the script is basically a rehash of the previous film. Title character gets into trouble while his human counterpart helps him. There is no backstory explanation for the characters as it is assumed that the audience has watched the first Ted film. I liked the first Ted film. Not only was it very funny, the film had good emotional drama which audience can feel symphatized. This sequel lacks that emotional connection. However, the comedy moments and jokes are just as funny as the first one and guaranteed to have a lot of laughs. There are a lot of  inside jokes that  references pop culture which was creative. The dialogue is full of profanity and not suitable for children under 17 years old.

Amanda Seyfried  as Samantha L. Jackson

 ACTING:

Wahlberg did well in this film. His performance is not much of a stretch when it comes to comedies. In this sequel, he has less scree time compared to the first film. Seyfried is a welcome addition to the cast but she did little to showcase her performance. Established actor Morgan Freeman was just there to give the film some boost in terms of star-power.

Samantha, John, and Ted in a diner

FILMING: 
Seth MacFarlane is famously known as the creator of Family Guy, an animated TV series on the FOX network in the United States. He did well for the first film, which marked his directorial debut, but I feel he slack a little bit on this sequel. The focus was more on specific funny scenes and moments. Sometimes it felt like there was a lack of emotional connection from scene to scene which is essential in keeping an audience interested. The visual effects for Ted the teddy bear is as usual very good.

Filming Ted with a stuffed teddy bear being used as a visual effects reference marker

PACING:

Moderate pacing. Good start, good middle, and good ending.

DOWNSIDE:
Lots of profanity is used in film and some drug use. Talking foul-mouthed teddy bear on screen is not for kids.

UPSIDE:

A very funny film that will guarantee laughs.

Ted at his job in the supermarket

OVERALL: 
I feel the first film was much better than this sequel. Good laughs and light-hearted storyline. However, please note that you MUST see the first film in order to understand Ted2.

RATING:

7 out of 10