The best part going into watching this movie is the fact that I haven’t seen the first one. I knew Ted featured some great actors and a talking bear. Extent of my knowledge. So going into Ted 2 I was thinking “great actors and a talking bear.” What I got was so much more.
Seth MacFarlane helmed the original film, as well as the sequel. Writing, directing, and even voicing the cuddly, yet foul-mouthed bear, MacFarlane has comedy chops. Creating a buddy comedy where the main character is a teddy bear was probably a crazy idea that came in a drunken, weed filled haze. But it is hilarious. Mark Wahlberg is best known for his more serious, dramatic roles, and yet he makes an amazing sidekick in comedy. The two characters are like brothers, so with that relationship comes a lot of teasing and cursing and drinking and pot usage. You expect with a comedy centered around a talking bear that the film will be all laughs, which it certainly is.
But MacFarlane pulls on your heartstrings too. As Ted embarks on his new marriage with Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), things don’t go as smoothly as they hoped. When they decide they want to have a child, issues start arising and not just because he’s a bear and doesn’t have the needed appendage. The state determines that their marriage is null and void and that Ted is actually just property. He loses his job and they get denied from adoption. Ted goes on a legal quest to get everything fixed. Hilarity ensues while asking some deeply serious questions. What does it mean to be a human? What does it mean to have agency or feelings? How is it that deep philosophical questions are being thrown at you from a talking toy? Amazing depth for what is obviously passed off as two idiots being ridiculous most of the time and getting into shenanigans.
Besides Marky-Mark, the cast has some amazing talent in it. Amanda Seyfried plays the young attorney attempting to help Ted get his legal issues sorted. What was unfortunately left out of the trailer is the hysterical scene where they first meet her and she whips out a bong and starts taking hits. Which is what convinces them to trust her in the first place. The background cast has great cameos from Morgan Freeman, Patrick Warburton, Giovanni Ribisi, Tom Brady, and even Liam Neeson. I don’t know how much they paid him for the two minute scene he was in, but it was totally worth it. Especially with Neeson’s characteristically deep voice and serious tone. I was just waiting for him to mention his special set of skills…
That surprise scene post credits worries me. Was poor Liam Neeson assaulted for buying Trix? Did kids assault him for buying Trix because grown-ups can’t have them? Hmmm.
The cinematography features some amazing shots of New York, where they travel for law assistance after an interesting adventure to get there. It is fairly standard cinematography but even more impressive for the detail put into Ted. He just looks so snuggly! As I previously stated, I haven’t seen the first film. I don’t know the plot of the first so I can’t verify if it is a different plot or if the same gags are just rehashed. But watching the sequel has certainly convinced me to check it out. A funny yet feel good film about a friend and his talking teddy, this sequel is definitely worth the watch in my opinion.
