Ted 2 (2015)

It had some big laughs in the beginning when it dealt with Ted's marriage and problems getting his wife pregnant. Then it had this weird mid-twist of him being "property" where he isn't a person and the marriage wasn't legal and he had to go to court which I thought was boring and their lawyer was inexperienced and not a very interesting character. The movie also repeated some of the laughs in the second hour of so. I find this summer to be uneven with Terminator: Genysis, Insidious: Chapter 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Mad Max: Fury Road and now Ted 2 being big ideas that run out after awhile. I also didn't like Spy which I thought was mostly boring with a dumb plot twist involving Jason Statham's character. Hopefully I will enjoy Inside Out and Jurassic World. I liked San Andreas, but that was just a fun summer movie. That seemed made specifically for a summer release more than most action/special effects movies. Nothing great in that one.

Too much dick and pot jokes. Not even funny. Dick this and dick that. Seth MacFarlane need to come out of the closet already. Enough said.

First of all, if you're reading this, I assume you saw and enjoyed the first Ted movie. The good news is that Ted 2 has a lot - and I mean a lot - of the off-color humor that characterized Ted 1. Ted and Johnny smoke weed a lot, watch TV a lot and say "fuck" a lot. If you thought Ted 1 was funny, chances are you'll find this movie funny as well.Now for the bad news: while it has lots of good moments, this movie does suffer from a mild case of "sequel-itis". It doesn't fit together as well as the first movie did, there are quite a few scenes that don't move the plot along at all and would work just as well as standalone comedy skits. The movie also falls short of Ted 1 in a few other ways. So let's figure out exactly what's wrong with this movie:1. Mila Kunis isn't in it. Now, technically this flaw applies to all movies that don't have Mila Kunis in them, but in this case, it makes a noticeable difference. Mila's character was often the voice of reason in the first film, and while Amanda Seyfried's character in Ted 2 is hugely entertaining, she is as goofy, if not goofier, than Ted and Johnny. 2. In the first film, Ted and Johnny were obnoxious and vulgar, but essentially good-hearted. In Ted 2, our heroes and their friends seem to have lost their kind touch, and descended into simply being unhindered assholes. They harass strangers for fun, cause at least two vehicle accidents and make one or two mildly racist, sexist and homophobic jokes - hardly surprising, considering Mark Wahlberg's past, but still a letdown. 3. For some reason, this movie decided to try and be a legal drama as well as a screwball comedy. While it manages not to get too boring, there are still one or two courtroom scenes that feel out of place in this movie, to the point where it's a relief when the protagonists inevitably start shouting obscenities. 4. There quite a few running gags that feel very forced and unnatural. The celebrity cameos are also fun at first, but get a bit old after a while. 5. The ending seems a bit anticlimactic, especially after the brilliant ending of the first film. It mostly fits the characters, but it seems tacked on and pointless, and missed the obvious opportunity to be much cleverer than it was. 6. They don't sing the Thunder Buddy song.Now, just for the sake of fairness, let me point out some of the utterly brilliant things in this movie that make me love it in spite of its flaws: 1. There are a couple of scenes that parody other films in utterly genius ways. I won't name any names, but if you're at all familiar with the biggest films of the '80s and '90s, you should have no trouble getting the references. 2. Ted really comes into his own as a character in this movie. The first film, despite its name, was really about Johnny, but in this one, Ted really is the one we're supposed to identify with, and Johnny feels almost like Ted's sidekick more than the other way around. 3. Amanda Seyfried is fantastic in this movie, and manages to fit in perfectly with Ted and Johnny's weird rapport. She has a few specific moments that really improve the film overall, and while I won't spoil anything, I will say that this movie would have mostly sucked without her. 4. They don't sing the Octopussy song.In conclusion, if you enjoyed the first Ted, I think you'll enjoy this one. It doesn't really work as a standalone film, but few sequels do. As long as you don't expect it to be better than the first film, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The original "Ted" was one of the most unique movies I had ever seen...and also one of the best movies I saw in 2012. I was a fan of the Family Guy-style humor, as well as the fact that a movie about a living stuffed bear could make me both laugh and feel. Unfortunately, this sequel (while still providing a number of good laughs) just couldn't live up to its predecessor in any category.For a basic plot summary, "Ted 2" resumes the life stories of Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) and John (Mark Wahlberg) and their crazy antics. Ted is now married to fellow cashier Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth) and they want to have a "little Teddy" running around. However, after the obvious insemination difficulties (!), they are stymied further when Ted is ruled "property" by the government. The gang decide to fight the case and are assigned Samantha L. Jackson (Amanda Seyfried) as the junior lawyer hoping to make a mark in her career by winning the case.The obvious issue with this movie is that the novelty has worn off. In the first film, McFarlane could practically get by with the sight gag of a talking teddy bear. That is no longer the case now, with this next film having to rely solely on the humor. Much like "Family Guy", which is now almost completely in the tank (its comedy has dried up), "Ted 2" can't sustain nearly two hours on straight comedy alone. With the novelty gone, it turns into more of a generic, run-of-the-mill comedic effort.Another weakness is that the role Mila Kunis played in part one is not present here. Seyfried brings her own style to the proceedings this time, don't get me wrong, but there was a better chemistry between Kunis, Wahlberg, and MacFarlane. Again, though, perhaps that is just as much because the story is more original in that original film.All of that being said, "Ted 2" still managed to provide me with enough laughs to give it a decent three-star ranking. Had it not started off so terribly slow (after nearly 30 minutes, I was worried it was going to be a completely unfunny disaster), it could have even been bumped a tad higher. Unless a really original, groundbreaking script surfaces for this franchise/characters, it is likely that this will and should be the last installment in the adventures of our furry friend. I would probably see a third one...but with extremely lowered expectations.