As most of us know, the first “Ted†movie was a huge success. It featured the professionally good-looking Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis as John and Lori, a long-term couple, and John’s perverted talking teddy bear voiced by MacFarlane. Well, both the bear and John are back. But this time around, the titular Ted is marrying his love Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth) while John is picking up the pieces after his divorce from Lori.
After his wedding, Ted is notified that the Massachusetts state government declares him as property instead of a person and annuls his marriage. Ted and John must then seek the help of the young and inexperienced attorney Samantha (Amanda Seyfried) to fight back and officially declare Ted as a person. Eventually, this 26-year-old lawyer and John, the older man whose age is never actually confirmed, fall in love. Because of course they do.
While Seyfried does a fine enough job in the movie, her character is not nearly as interesting or funny as Kunis’ character was. In the first installment, Lori was constantly challenging Ted and John while simultaneously bringing them back down to reality. She was funny, cared about her career, and, most importantly, normal (if not a bit of a buzzkill). This contrast worked perfectly to balance out the crazy antics of Ted and John.
In the latest film, Seyfried’s character Samantha is a (very) young, intelligent woman who smokes just as much weed as (if not more than) any man in Boston. In fact, she brings out her bong within 30 seconds of meeting the thunder buddies in her office. Yes, yes, of course this movie is not about realistic interpretations of women in the work place. But it was much more fun to watch Kunis and Wahlberg navigate their opposites-attract type of relationship than seeing Wahlberg find a love interest who agrees with him on everything.
Like in any good sequel, there are quite a few celebrity cameos in the follow-up movie. Those are always fun, right? Don’t worry though, there are no spoilers here. It is easy to see that these celebrities loved the first movie enough to want to be in the sequel, which makes those scenes really enjoyable. Each of the cameos is really fun, even if they don’t really push the plot forward. But that is usually how cameos work.
Overall, the gist of this movie is the same as its predecessor, although this time around there is a bit more plot structure and surprisingly more emotional depth. MacFarlane compares Ted’s plight for equal rights to the marriage equality movement. While this may not be a perfect analogy, and while MacFarlane does not fully acknowledge his own privileges, it feels good to know that the bros who go to see this movie might gain more compassion for equal rights. But don’t worry, not much else has changed. Ted and John are still just as perverted and obnoxiously charming, Sam Jones still loves cocaine, Tami-Lynn is still just as loud as the outfits she wears, and there are nice nods to the original that fans will definitely appreciate.
Long story short, we all understand the basic premise of the Ted franchise. At this point, we know MacFarlane’s humor well enough not to expect anything too highbrow. But if you like movies that are stupidly enjoyable, then this is the right one for you. And no, you do not need to see the first film to follow the plot of this one.
The verdict: If the first Ted made you laugh, then this one will, too.
Reach writer Lilly Willner at arts@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @lillywillner
Rating: 100% based on 975 ratings. 91 user reviews.
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