Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Mark Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried, Jessica Barth, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Warburton, Morgan Freeman, Sam Jones, Michael Dorn, Bill Smitrovich, John Slattery, John Carroll Lynch, Morgan Freeman
Directed By: Seth MacFarlane
This is another film taking an unfair beating at the box office. If you were a fan of the first Ted, you’ll love Ted 2. I laughed my ass off in several places. I know Seth MacFarlane may have lost your trust after A Million Ways To Die In The West, but come on. Did you really think Ted 2 would suck? Cause it doesn’t. I have a few minor problems with it, but they have very little to do with the actual jokes in the film.
Plot wise, did we really need to bring Giovanni Ribisi back? Recycling your villain from the first film… especially when he wasn’t really a breakthrough or anything like that… seems weak. I know he had a different plot in mind originally for Ted 2, but We’re The Millers came out, so he wrote a new film. Did your first idea feature Ribisi? Probably not, and for good reason. Let him go. There are other villains in the sea. Also, let the awkwardly masculine gay couple go too. I know you were trying to be funny, but they were just weird.
And why does Amanda Seyfried now sing in every film she’s in? Is that a thing? Were you spoofing the Amanda Seyfried mandatory song? I gotta say, it was the first time I actually liked her voice, but still. It was also really funny watching Amanda Seyfried, who plays a lot of goody-two-shoe types, taking a hit off a bong.
You made up for it though. Liam Neeson’s cameo… I think I might have peed myself. Best use of Liam Neeson this year (sorry Entourage and Taken 3). There’s another cameo I won’t spoil that’s equally hilarious and unexpected. Also, points for appropriate use of the Jurassic Park theme song.
Seth MacFarlane understands the complicated structure of how to make you laugh, which as proven by other films this year, is really hard. Get Hard, Hot Pursuit, and a few others could have used that formula.
Ted 2 is not doing great at the box office, which is a shame. It’s not quite as solid of a plot structure as the first film, but it packs just as many laughs (even if many of them are juvenile). Either this or Spy is the funniest film I’ve seen this year.
FINAL GRADE: A-
