Ted 2

I really can't understand why many critics went harsh on this one.

The film is jutted with quality humour - social, political and personal. It lives up to the expectations and doesn't slack anywhere at all. It makes us laugh but also makes us uneasy at times not because of crassness but because it reveals the underbelly of our social setup.

I am waiting for Ted 3 - I sincerely hope McFarlene considers it. Ted should run up for Governor or President. It will fit in nicely with the US presidentials in 2016 and should reveal the shallowness of modern political campaigning.

Go Seth go...

The first Ted was a major surprise for me. I thought it looked stupid from the trailers, but when I saw it I couldn't stop laughing. Having been a fan of Family Guy for a long time, I was not sure what to make of Seth MacFarlane's feature film debut. It was a success, so a sequel was bound to happen at some point.

When I first walked into Ted 2, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would it be funnier than the original, or just a waste of time. Well it was actually neither. What it is, though, is a subtle commentary on civil rights.

In the film, Ted (voice by Seth MacFarlane) is seen by the US government as nothing more than a piece of property. With the help of his thunder buddy John (Mark Wahlberg) and a young lawyer named Sam (Amanda Seyfried), Ted goes to court to fight for his rights as a human being. This is the main plot point, but there are a few subplots thrown in, such as finding a sperm donor so Ted and his wife Tami can have a baby, and a return by creepy bear-o-phile Donny (Giovanni Rabisi).

I did not find myself laughing quite as much in this one as with the first. Some of the jokes were a bit predictable this time around, and some even seemed forced. Probably the highlight of the humor is a hysterical cameo which I will not divulge.

Bottom line, it has a good message to it if you like films with a moral, but if you're a fan of Seth MacFarlane who is hoping for nothing but non-stop laughs, then you may be a tad disappointed. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I'd say it's more worth a rental when the time comes. Not really anything to rush to the cinema for.

Ted 2 now focuses on the titular anthropomorphic teddy bear in, having his own life of marriage and plans ahead of getting a non-biological child. This leads to a strangely interesting conflict about gaining civil rights to a teddy bear. And it's stranger that at some point the movie does take it somewhat seriously, and eventually goes back to its crass hijinks. It's nice, but nothing much compelling in the end, because what obviously overshadows it is definitely the outrageous laughs. But even the degree of laughs suffers the same problem; it's full of energy at first then it awkwardly mutes its lighter tone for its climax. Fans of the first may get the same pleasure that they seek, but there is really nothing special to it, either.

The first half really has the strongest amount of funny moments and also brought some intrigue to the story's center. But the movie apparently cannot decide what exact approach it is generally taking. The outrageous comedy is still everywhere, but whenever it stops by focusing on its themes, it really takes it seriously, like it actually believes that it is saying something important. But the movie hardly earns anything to deserve that attention. It's just shifting from its outrageous nature to a sudden gravity back and forth. Even for a comedy that is actually just fooling around, it stills displays a mind of uncertainty. There is also some bits of attempting to replicate Broadway; with dance numbers and a song. Can't tell if that's one of the movie's way of tripping or the director just wants to show off that he can do a musical. Either way, it rather feels nothing more than a random filler. The movie is also a little too long, the movie hitting the same major problem of the first film by setting up a climax that it's supposed to drive tension. It never felt right for the film, even worse, it's more like a rehash, reintroducing the same villain except it takes place in a different location. It's rather awkward and tedious than effective.

The sentiment doesn't felt convincing enough for the movie's true colors, but then it's all about the humor. And if the humor works, then there is a worthy roar of laughter to get from this film. Predictably raunchy, pot fueled and consists pop culture references; that will certainly be enjoyed if you understand the language of a Seth MacFarlane comedy. It's fun if it really tries to be fun. The performances from its lead actors are still a joy to watch. MacFarlane still manages to put energy to the talking teddy bear and Mark Wahlberg is still committed to fool around as Ted's man child best friend.

Ted 2 doesn't bring the same surprise of the first one, but if you're in for more outrageous laughs from this profane talking teddy bear, then it won't be a problem, as long as you're not expecting too much. The film does try to bring on an important theme, but it's not as effective or as strong as it wanted to be; it does make some interesting arguments, just doesn't have any powerful or at least earned conclusion to it; but hell, who would exactly take that seriously, anyway? Well, no more than the movie itself. It should have been shorter, the storyline should have been tighter, and the third act should have tried harder than repeating its predecessor. Again, it can be really funny, it just suffers handling its ideas better.

Ted 2 does exactly what it set out to do. It delivers a bunch of laughs built primarily on crude, in-your-face humor and it doesn't take itself too seriously. Seth MacFarlane proves once again that he has his finger firmly on the pulse of his target demographic because the theater was in stitches throughout most of the film. That being said, a comedy doesn't have to sacrifice cinema in order to deliver laughs. I think the first movie was a prime example of that, as it was a genuinely good movie in addition to being hilarious. Instead, MacFarlane turns this movie into a live-action version of Family Guy. The plot is choppy and it essentially feels like a series of random skits, pieced together to form the semblance of some over-arcing plot. It was easily worth watching because it was hilarious but I expected a quality film closer to that of the first one.

If there was a 6.5, I would give it. Because there was a lot to like in this movie. I like Mark Wahlberg. I like the bear. I like Amanda Seyfried. And there were a lot of good laughs in this movie. Good one-liners, and good recurring gags.

However, it just wasn't enough to make up for a horrible plot. The plot is lifted from "Miracle on 43rd Street." But it is not Christmas, Ted is not Santa. Somehow Ted does not rise to the mythical level of Santa, this is not a movie for kids. and the movie falls flat. Markie Mark is same as ever, and I do enjoy him. Kudos to Amanda Seyfried, who tries so hard to make the romance story line work. But I could never get past the fact that I was watching MW and AS and a wise-cracking stuffed bear. Some good laughs? Yes. A good story? Not even close.