Ted 2 (2015) review

After creating one of the most successful shows of the 2000’s in ‘Family Guy’, a show that survived not one but two cancellations by Fox, Seth MacFarlane moved into film in 2012 with his directorial debut, ‘Ted’, the story of a Boston native by the name of John Bennett and his relationship with his talking teddy bear Ted, who came to life after John had made a wish on a shooting star back when he was a kid. The film ended up being a huge success, attracting solid critical reviews and grossing over half a billion dollars worldwide. Three years later, everyone’s favorite ‘Thunder Buddies’ are back with ‘Ted 2’. But of course, as we all know, comedy sequels are pretty darn tough to get right. Most of the time they end up being inferior to their predecessor, usually because they just end up rehashing the same jokes instead of doing something new. But at the end of the day, ‘Ted 2’ actually does manage to be one of the better comedy sequels out there, even if that may not necessarily be saying much given most of the other comedy sequels that have come out over the years. It’s by no means the absolute funniest comedy of the year, even when compared to the first film, and it does share some of the issues that plagued MacFarlane’s previous film, the general misfire that was ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’. But unlike that film, those issues aren’t really as prevalent in ‘Ted 2’, which is thankfully much more consistent in terms of its humor. And that’s primarily thanks to the film’s great leading duo of John and Ted, who ultimately are the main reason why these two ‘Ted’ films have been so much fun to watch.

The film picks up about six months after the events of the first film, with John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) coping with his recent divorce with Lori (in other words, Mila Kunis did not return for the sequel) while Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) marries his girlfriend Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth). One year later, the couple find themselves at great odds with each other so Ted suggests that they have a baby. But due to obvious reasons (i.e. Ted being a teddy bear), the two, with the help of John, instead have to resort to other methods to have a child. However, when they try to adopt, Ted learns that he is viewed only as ‘property’ by the government, which results in him losing his job and his marriage to Tami-Lynn being annulled. With nowhere else to go, Ted and John decide to take their issue to court to prove that Ted is as much of a person as everyone else. With the help of Samantha Jackson (Amanda Seyfried), a young up-and-coming lawyer who John and Ted immediately connect with due to their shared interests (e.g. marijuana), the ‘Thunder Buddies’ embark on a quest to get Ted’s life back by proving to the world that not only is he human but that he can also make positive contributions to society. All the while, the pals embark on another series of misadventures, including having to deal with the return of their nemesis Donny (Giovanni Ribisi), who once again hatches a plot to kidnap Ted, this time teaming up with Hasbro so that they can try and figure out what caused Ted to come alive so that they can produce more living teddy bears.

Like its predecessor, your overall enjoyment of ‘Ted 2’ will more than likely depend on whether or not you find MacFarlane’s general style of humor funny. ‘Ted 2’, just like the first film and ‘Family Guy’, is full of adult, immature, and sometimes even potentially offensive humor. It’s pretty much the live-action version of ‘Family Guy’, with John and Ted basically being the live-action equivalents of Peter and Brian Griffin. Me personally, I loved the first few seasons of ‘Family Guy’ but I haven’t watched the show in recent years mainly due to the simple fact that the show’s quality has dropped with each subsequent season that it is still on. But as for ‘Ted’, it was one of my favorite comedies of 2012 and ‘Ted 2’ is not too far off. Sure, like with MacFarlane’s last effort, ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’, there are some ‘dead air’ moments in ‘Ted 2’ with no humor, which is usually whenever the film tries to be serious, more so than it needs to be. That and perhaps the film does go on just a bit too long, which was also a problem with ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’. But unlike that film, the humor is a lot more consistent and like the first film, there are also some legitimately heartfelt moments even amidst all of the dirty humor. At the end of the day, all I can say is that it’s just really funny to see something like a teddy bear act so raunchy and that’s really one of the biggest strengths of both ‘Ted’ films; it’s just a fun and unique premise that only someone can Seth MacFarlane could pull off.

But once again, the best element of ‘Ted 2’, just like with the first, is the duo of John and Ted, who are just one of the best comedy duos of the past few years thanks to Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane’s excellent camaraderie. Sure, John and Ted can be immature and crude most of the time but there’s also something about them that actually still makes them such a likable pair, which is probably due to the strong bond of friendship between them. Mila Kunis doesn’t reprise her role of Lori in this film, which is disappointing not only because the plotline of her and John getting divorced basically goes against one of the most endearing elements of the first film (their relationship) but because she played just as big a role in the film as much as John and Ted and wasn’t just ‘the girlfriend who dislikes her boyfriend’s best friend’. But to her credit, Amanda Seyfried works just as well with Wahlberg and MacFarlane. At the end of the day though, John and Ted are the true heart of the film and whenever they aren’t onscreen, that’s where the film’s humor doesn’t hit. Usually this with any scene involving the character of Donny, whose plotline in the first film of him trying to kidnap Ted for his son was admittedly one of the weaker parts of that film. But, like with pretty much any MacFarlane production, you can also expect a whole bunch of memorable cameos, including Tom Brady, Morgan Freeman, and Liam Neeson, the latter of whom is thankfully used to greater effect here than in ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’.

‘Ted 2’ is by no means the funniest comedy of all-time, especially when compared to the first film. That and it did share some of the issues that plagued ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ (e.g. ‘dead air’ moments and being just a bit overlong), even though those issues weren’t as big of a problem this time around. But still, at the end of the day, I had a good time watching ‘Ted 2’ which I would actually argue is almost just as funny as the first film. Like the first film, the main reason for this is the duo of John and Ted. They’re just a great comedy film duo and it’s fun to watch these two go on all sorts of misadventures and get into a bunch of hi-jinx. Yes, like its predecessor and MacFarlane’s iconic show ‘Family Guy’ (especially in recent seasons), the humor can be a bit harsh and mean-spirited at times. That’s just the kind of humor MacFarlane does and obviously it’s not for everyone. But what surprises me about both of these ‘Ted’ films is that despite all of that, there are still some moments that are actually legitimately touching, which again is usually due to the great friendship of John and Ted. All in all, ‘Ted 2’ does manage to be one of the better comedy sequels of all time. If you loved the first film, then I’m pretty sure that you’ll like this one too. But if you’re not a fan of MacFarlane’s brand of humor, then you’re better off with something else.

Rating: 4/5

A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) review

After establishing his own animation empire with ‘Family Guy’, which continues to run after surviving not one but two cancellations, ‘American Dad!’, and ‘The Cleveland Show’, Seth MacFarlane transitioned into film with his directorial debut, ‘Ted’, and the film was a pretty big hit when it released in June 2012. Not only did it receive generally solid reviews from critics, but it also ended up becoming the highest grossing original comedy of all time with nearly $550 million worldwide at the box office. A few months later, MacFarlane was selected to host the 85^th Academy Awards and while he, as usual, attracted a lot of controversy due to his trademark style of humor, I was one of those who thought that he did a really good job and felt that his turn as host was a breath of fresh air for the annual awards ceremony. But now he’s back with his next directorial effort, ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’, and this time instead of just portraying a motion capture character as he did in ‘Ted’, he makes his live-action debut in the lead role. So how does this film hold up? Well, ultimately I can’t say that it was as good as ‘Ted’ for a few glaring reasons but overall it still provided a decent amount of laughs though how it will fare with audiences could ultimately depend on whether or not you’re a fan of MacFarlane’s work.

The film centers on Albert Stark (Seth MacFarlane), a cowardly sheep farmer in Arizona who constantly complains about how awful the Wild West in 1882 is, and that’s mostly because there are multiple ways (‘a million’ to be specific) to die there; disease, outlaws, animals, the doctor, etc. His lack of courage ends up resulting in him losing his girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried) to the town’s moustache shop owner Foy (Neil Patrick Harris) after he withdraws from a duel. Albert then decides to leave for San Francisco, but ends up staying when a mysterious woman named Anna (Charlize Theron) moves into town. As she and Albert start to become friends, he starts to gain a bit more confidence as he attempts to win back the heart of Louise. But soon he finds himself having to stand his ground not against Foy, but against Anna’s husband, the notorious outlaw Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), when he arrives in town seeking revenge on Stark after he started to develop a relationship with Anna. In order to deal with this, Anna helps Albert by teaching him how to shoot better so that Albert can stand a chance against the most vicious gunslinger in the territory.

This film’s humor is exactly what you would expect from MacFarlane given his line of work; fairly crass and juvenile. If you’re someone who likes that kind of humor, you’ll probably enjoy this movie and overall there are a solid amount of funny moments in this film. I’ve heard some people say that the best stuff is in the trailer and for the most part they’re fairly right but there were still a few good funny moments peppered in here and there that weren’t featured in the trailers. However, the big problem here is that there are a few instances where there’s no humor at all. And you know some comedies do have moments where the humor doesn’t fly well but that’s not the case here because there are a few instances where nothing funny is happening for a good 10 to 15 minutes. A lot of critics have said that this film is ‘overlong’, and I have to say that I do agree with that. This film may only be about 10 minutes longer than ‘Ted’, but that film’s humor was much more consistent and ultimately had enough material to justify its runtime. This film, sadly, doesn’t have enough material to be nearly two hours long. In fact, the whole plot involving Liam Neeson’s character… is actually more or less just the subplot for the third act. Seriously, most of the movie’s buildup revolves around a duel between Albert and Foy, not with Albert and Clinch as the trailers are indicating.

But still, this film does benefit from a pretty solid cast even if they don’t always have enough good material to work with. In his first major live-action leading role, MacFarlane does a pretty good job and his chemistry with Theron, who’s really good here as well, is also really good. It always helps in a movie like this when the chemistry between the two leads is really good though remember what I said about those instances that had a severe lack of humor? That’s because those scenes are mainly focused on developing the relationship between the two and though it really is a nice little romance that these two develop, this film sort of focuses on that relationship a bit too much. All of the other major members of the cast, including Seyfried, Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, who plays Albert’s best friend Edward, and Sarah Silverman, who plays Edward’s fiancé Ruth, have their own moments to shine here as well. Unfortunately though, Liam Neeson doesn’t get much to do here; his character is pretty one-note, which is a shame after his hilarious turn as Bad Cop/Good Cop in ‘The LEGO Movie’. As for the multiple cameos in this movie (another thing you can expect from a MacFarlane production), there a few really noteworthy cameos here that produce some quality laughs though one cameo unfortunately had to be involved in probably the weakest post-credits scene ever. It’s a fairly brief scene and the cameo itself was pretty cool but quite frankly it just isn’t worth it after waiting through the entire credits.

I don’t think ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ is that bad; I feel that it’s better than a lot of comedies that are coming out these days and at the end of the day there are a good decent amount of laughs to be had here. However, as far as MacFarlane’s directorial efforts go, ‘Ted’ was the funnier film. This film just doesn’t have enough material to justify a near two-hour runtime. There are at least two or three instances where no humor is occurring for at least 10-15 minutes and while those scenes are setting up a nice little romance between MacFarlane and Theron’s characters, that romance is focused on just a bit too much. Still, the cast is pretty game for the material, there are a few really fun cameos here, and overall if you’re a fan of MacFarlane’s work you’ll probably like this. If you’re not a fan, well, obviously you’re probably not going to like this film. But really, if you haven’t seen ‘Neighbors’ yet, I’d recommend that film over this one because at the end of the day that is still the best comedy of this year so far. Again, I don’t think this film was that bad, but it’s a rather disappointing follow-up to ‘Ted’ and it could have been a lot funnier.

Rating: 3/5

Ted (2012) review

Seth MacFarlane made a name for himself in 1999 when he created the hit animated sitcom 'Family Guy'. Even though the show was canceled not once, but two times by Fox early on in its run, its cult following helped it get back on the air in 2005 and since then, it has become one of Fox's biggest hits. I've been a fan of Family Guy ever since about 2008 but like everyone else, I agree that the show has certainly declined in overall quality in recent years. Now there can be many reasons for this, but it seems that one of the main reasons for it would be that MacFarlane was busy with his directorial debut, 'Ted', and the reason why I say this is because Ted is easily one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time. MacFarlane brings his trademark humor to the big screen with great success, with a film that is not just funny as hell but also very heartwarming at the same time, which is something that doesn't really happen that much with most R-rated comedies.

John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is a normal guy from Boston whose life changed on the day he got a teddy bear for Christmas when he was 8. Longing for a friend, he wishes that the bear would come to life and by the miracle of a shooting star, he does. The two become inseparable and 27 years later, John and Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) are still best friends. However, Ted's vulgar and immature lifestyle has affected John's life greatly, even when he is in the midst of a relationship with Lori (Mila Kunis), who asks John to have Ted move out so that they could move on with their lives. This forces John to start acting his age, even when his relationship with Ted keeps preventing that from happening and John must find a way to keep both his girlfriend and his best friend in his life.

'Ted' is very similar in style and tone to Family Guy. It takes place in New England, one of the main characters is something that shouldn't even exist, and the characters of John and Ted do very much resemble Peter and Brian on Family Guy. In fact, Ted sounds exactly like Peter Griffin and they even make a joke about it in the film. On Family Guy, MacFarlane constantly pushes the envelope for what can be shown on television, and 'Ted' pretty much gives him free reign to do even more than what he could get away with on Family Guy. There are racial jokes, ethnic jokes, 80's references, and so on. Basically, it's the usual crazy stuff you see on Family Guy, and trust me when I say that this film truly deserves the 'R' rating it has been given.

But 'Ted' has something that makes it all work and that is heart. True, both John and Ted act immature and vulgar, but both are actually pretty likeable and are true friends to the end. The main message of the film of growing up and taking responsibility for yourself is very genuine and despite all of the racist and ethnic humor that this movie spews out constantly, it's not hateful in any way. The ending in particular is enough to warm the heart of any New Englander. The screenplay is very well-written and the film never gets dull at any point. Patrick Stewart as the narrator goes beyond the boundaries of your typical narrator, and even when the film becomes more of a thriller during the final act, MacFarlane still pulls in enough jokes to make it all worthwhile.

Mark Wahlberg does a great job here, and really should be given a lot of credit for interacting with something that was only added into the film in post-production. MacFarlane, of course, gets the biggest laughs as this vulgar and obnoxious teddy bear, and him and Wahlberg have great chemistry together. Wahlberg also has great chemistry with Mila Kunis as well, and the filmmakers don't go the cheap route with how her character is written. Instead of just making her a heartless objector of Ted's actions, she's someone who does love her boyfriend but is annoyed that he still acts like a child, obviously because of the bear who has been his best friend since he was 8 years old, which is affecting any chance they have at taking their relationship to the next level. The other members of the cast bring some great humor as well, including Joel McHale as Lori's boss who keeps trying to hit on her and Giovanni Ribisi as a creepy father who tries to acquire Ted for his son.

Seth MacFarlane's directorial debut is one for the ages and is easily the funniest film of the year so far. Wahlberg, MacFarlane, Kunis are great together and as crude, vulgar, and crazy as much of this film is, it does have a lot of heart to it. This easily makes up for the lackluster run that Family Guy has been on for the last few seasons, and while I'm not exactly saying that MacFarlane should stop doing Family Guy just yet, it's clear that MacFarlane should focus on his film career now because he has a lot to offer. Obviously, if you're a fan of Family Guy, then you'll love this movie. But even if you aren't, then I would still recommend this movie because I guarantee that you will be very much entertained by it.

Rating: 5/5!