The foul-mouthed, pot smoking teddy bear Ted voiced by ‘Family Guy’ creator Seth Macfarlane has returned to our screens three years after the first successful outing. Returning with Boston based actor Mark Wahlberg, Ted finds himself in a legal battle to prove to the court of law that he is indeed a person so he can subsequently have kids and get married to his girlfriend Tami-Lynn who appeared in the first film. The film opens up with a huge musical number that I felt was too long and incredibly boring; but after dragging through the first initial 15 minutes; Ted gets back to his old self. Not only that, but I think I enjoyed ‘Ted 2’ more than the first outing.
After seeing the first few reactions to ‘Ted 2’, I was sceptical about the sequel, mainly due to the fact that I felt there wasn’t much to add on that could be interpreted as fresh as the first film. The sequel to the 2012 box-office hit is helped along the way due to the introductions of some very funny cameo’s and new characters. Look out for Liam Neeson’s cameo in the store! The cameo, along with a handful of moments comes straight to mind when looking back at ‘Ted 2’. The new characters including Amanda Seyfried & Morgan Freeman give the film that added breath of fresh air; and that’s what made it more enjoyable for me than the first film.
Credit is due to Seth Macfarlane, he had his work cut out for him to make a successful follow up to his biggest box-office hit. I know my opinion of this film will most likely be mixed from other people; ‘Ted’ has a huge following and there will be people who won’t like the sequel. For me, ‘Ted 2’ had me laughing consistently and that is the perfect formula when watching a comedy film. The usual digs from Seth Macfarlane continue in ‘Ted 2’; including digs to Kim Kardashian and 9/11, these are a few topics that are trashed in the film, but the enjoyment of the film will be determined on the persons tolerance to deal with these jokes.
As stated above at the start of the review, my main issue was the pacing and re-introduction to Ted. It felt long and slow before diving back into the train of digs delivered by Ted. Once again in recent times, comedy sequels that fail are becoming a rarity. ‘Ted 2’ is another comedy sequel that I thoroughly enjoyed; but that spells the end for the bear for me. Sometimes, too much of something good eventually turns out bad. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
All Things Movies UK 