Sequels are always a daunting task in
the world of motion pictures, lest a potential franchise become
victim to the dreaded sophomore jinx phenomenon. A sequel has the
difficult task of building on an established world and the characters
that inhabit them. Usually for a film to even have a chance at making
a sequel it means that the first film did it's job well and become
moderately popular at the very least.
Ted 2 is definitely one of those films
that you can see being a hit or a bust, based on the original films
interesting premise of a talking teddy bear that comes alive.
Although that kind of magical tale of toys come to life might have
been in our heads since we were kids, when mixed in with the
sometimes brilliant and slightly over the top comedy writing of Seth
MacFarlane, it became something more.
The man behind the bear is very
important to this review and understanding this film because his
signature is all over the place like spilled semen on a sperm bank
floor (that will probably make more sense later). If you have seen
MacFarlane's Family Guy and American Dad, you know what your in store
for.
This is not a bad thing most of the
time by any means.
From the musical number accompanying
the opening credits sequence to the quick hitting visual punchlines,
this movie oozes Macfarlene's comedy style. Sometimes, like in a
early scene concerning the contents of Johnny's (Mark Wahlberg)
laptop computer, it is enough to make you laugh out loud at his
mastery at well written comedy dialogue.
In others it feels slightly out of
place, especially as said if you are familiar with MacFarlane's TV
creations over the last decade plus. Case in point is another
sequence really on where a guy high on cocaine leaps through a window
during a party, which is really more jarring then funny.
At times it feels out of place with the
tone of the rest of the film as far as suspending disbelief goes.
What I mean is that in my opinion theses jokes might have felt right
at home in a parody film such as Airplane! Or the Naked Gun series,
but for me their placement in this film just reminded me of how silly
the basic plot ideas are.
As MacFarlene (much to my delight) has
always seemed to enjoy the 'occasional' Star Wars reference, I'll
make one here. Most of the 'cutaway' jokes in Ted 2 were excellent
but some took me out the moment as much as George Lucas placing Jabba
the Hutt in A New Hope.
Still, it is that same sense of
nostalgia and parody that lead to a scene that paid both homage to
eighties comedies Revenge of the Nerds via the song choice, Planes,
Trains and Automobiles via a take on an iconic scene and The
Breakfast Club via some well recognized dance moves (including the
pot smoking in a public library where no one notices..what branch is
this anyway).
This constant stream of nostalgia based
fare does impress upon me what I do like about both Ted films and it
is the fact that despite the assault of sometimes down and dirty
jokes, they are actually funny because behind that there still is a
plot, served up in that delicious guilty pleasure style that people
like John Hughes became a master at creating.
It's bubble gum to be sure, but the
flavor lasts a long time and you are dragged laughing into a plot
that even has a bit of a message while you blow some bubbles.
The main thrust of this plot is that
Ted has been deemed not to be a sentient being but is instead an
object or manufactured possession. This does allow the film to try
and take on some serious subject matter (and take a jab at Fox News,
which is always a good thing) and although none of you reading this
who have yet to see the film should be armed with a box of tissues
unless you have a cold, it does give depth to the film.
Pacing of that plot is done well and
all points are satisfied by the end of the last scene quite nicely.
The only major thing I can gripe about in this area is the the film
does seem to run just a little bit too long in total, but that is a
small complaint.
Cameos abound in this film and some work
well and some feel tacked on, again perhaps slightly taking you out
of the film's main story with Family guy style cutaways. However, if
you ever wanted to see Captain Kirk battle Captain Picard at
Comic-Con or see a joke involving Jay Leno and sexual acts in a
public bathroom, this is the film for you.
 |
| Besides, there is a DALEK in it...nuff said! |
When it is all said and done Ted 2 will
never be the cult classic I can one day seeing the first film becoming but as far as comedy sequels go, it does hit most of the marks.
- Thomas Spychalski
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