Three years ago writer, director Seth MacFarlane hit box office gold with his comedy “Ted.” Now comes the sequel, “Ted 2,” which hits theatres this weekend.
For those unacquainted, this is the story of two best friends, John played by Mark Whalberg and Ted, his teddy bear - who magically came to life when he was a child.
Just like in the original, MacFarlane provides the voice of the potty mouth, good-natured bear. Some of the dialogue that comes out of this stuffed animal's mouth, along with some of his actions, are even bawdier and raunchier than in the first installment - if you can believe that's possible. However, Macfalane is very clever, so consequently the results are quite funny.
There is lots of politically incorrect, shock value stuff going on here too. Either you will be offended or you will laugh hysterically. I found it to be very amusing and the audience at the screening I attended was also howling with laughter. In essence, if you do it with intelligence, you can get away with practically anything.
The storyline in the sequel surrounds Ted and his wife's attempt to have a kid. But the courts don't approve. So it's off to court to prove Ted is a person.
MacFarlane tries to be heartwarming here and succeeds some of the time. But even though the courtroom stuff drags out after a while, they're so many humorous gags and one liners along the way, that you won't really mind.
Sure, most of the profanity-infused jokes revolve around sex and weed. However, there are also lots of very smart pop culture references - a staple of MacFarlane's work.
Amanda Seyfried and Morgan Freeman co-star and there are also some well-placed surprise celebrity cameos. Whalerg's comedic chops are spot on here - better than they were in the original.
If you liked the first “Ted,” you're going to really enjoy “Ted 2.”
Neil Rosen’s Big Apple Rating:
Three Apples