The perverted, bowl smoking teddy bear returns to theaters this weekend.
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| "That's it bitches! I'm running for President!" |
After the dreadful A Million Ways To Die In The West, Seth MacFarlane returns with a comedic vengeance that nearly matches the uproarious first Ted movie.
Ted 2 picks up shortly after the first movie ended with another adult themed comedy about John and his drug fueled little buddy. Somehow, MacFarlane pulls it off again and offers up one of the best comedy sequels ever made. Through a few minor stumbling points, Ted 2 is nearly as funny as the original while continuing to throw hundreds of new pop culture references at the screen. If you were a fan of the first, I'd be hard pressed to see why you wouldn't like this one too.
Unlike MacFarlane's terrible western comedy, he once again hits high marks with the teddy bear come to life. From courtroom drama to penile humor to smoking weed to a gross out ejaculate scenario to more scenes of a geriatric Sam Jones, Ted 2 relies on some returning themes but also expands beyond the confines of what people typically expect from a sequel. The prominent story of lifelong friendship continues to grow as new characters are added and unexpected cameos appear out of thin air.
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| "Yup. She just made a Funky Bunch joke." |
If anything, MacFarlane and Wahlberg are a great comedic pair that play of each other with unfiltered fluidity and profane charisma that still works even when the story could use a little more work. At numerous points, Ted 2 feels a bit too familiar and repeats borrowed elements from the first. If this were any other sequel, complaints could be lodged that MacFarlane and his writing cohorts got lazy. But this isn't just any other sequel. This is a movie about a stuffed animal that likes to have sex with cheap whores after getting stoned and drinking a case of beer. Case in point: leave your brain at home and forgive any problematic scripting. This is straight up fun from beginning to end, just like the first. While some of the party elements are missing from this entry, Ted and John have some worthy misadventures with their new found lawyer friend, played by the comically worthy Amanda Seyfried.
If you want to leave the drama of life behind and need some absurd escapist hilarity, Ted 2 will satiate your appetite for fecal jokes and big dumb fun. This isn't Shakespeare and it shouldn't be judged that way. This is MacFarlane back on the top of his game with actors that are willing to abandon their dramatic careers to have a good time doing stupid things for the sake of making an audience laugh. While other critics may not agree, Ted 2 was an absolute blast that I truly hope spawns another sequel. Check your brain at the door and give this one a whirl.
-CG