The crude, childhood bear that miraculously came to life is back! And this time around he’s ready to start a family of his own.
The film begins with Ted (Voiced by Seth MacFarlane) getting married to his girlfriend from the previous film, Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth). The two are more in love than ever, and it seems that everyone is having a great time. Everyone that is, except for John (Mark Wahlberg). He and Mila Kunis’ character have now divorced. It’s been six months and he still hasn’t been able to get back into the game. No, he just continues to mope, smoke weed, and watch A LOT of porn.
A year goes by, and marriage bliss quickly faded for the newlyweds. They are constantly at each other’s throats. Luckily, they are advised to have baby. Apparently, having a child is a sure way to fix a marriage! Once the couple decides on adoption, it is discovered that the state doesn’t recognize Ted as a person. He is eventually revoked of his basic civil rights and his personhood when the courts declare him to be property. Ted’s marriage is annulled and he loses his job. Naturally, they take this to court, and are defended by the young, attractive, inexperienced lawyer, Samantha (Amanda Seyfried).
For the most part Ted 2 does its best to stay original and refrain from a copycat sequel. The only time this fails is when we see the return of psycho Donny (Giovanni Ribisi). He has teamed up with a Hasbro executive and plans to kidnap Ted, AGAIN, and hopefully make millions of Teds for little kids all over the world. Because this was such a big part of the first film, this subplot just felt a tad forced and desperate. It’s as if they thought movie didn’t have enough conflict and was lacking a true climatic moment. Honestly, I would have been interested to see a new villain with new motives.
If you couldn’t already figure out the new love interest for John, it doesn’t matter. Whether or not, you liked Mila Kunis’ character, there was a lot more depth to their relationship. John and his new love make no difference to the film whatsoever, and are just another uninteresting subplot. Though she does make for a great pun of some hilarious jokes.
There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, and the film is extremely entertaining. But this movie doesn’t quite stick like the first one. Even with the parallels of America’s history of prejudice and intolerance, which was effective at times, the film still can’t scratch the surface of its dirty, college humor. Nonetheless, for fans of the first film, Ted 2 is still worth the watch.
Rating: 3/5
Ted 2 opens in theaters June 26.