J-Bang Reviews Present: Ted 2

Ted 2 debuted in theaters nationwide June 26th, I finally got around to seeing it...today! Today as in "July 23rd" today. I'm usually never this late to seeing a movie but with Ted, it just seemed like I never found the time. So since I've figured most of you have already seen Ted 2, for this J-Bangin Review, I've decided to do something rare. This piece will not only be a review but it will also be a "spoilercast," meaning I'll specifically talk about the things and scenes that I did, and didn't like in the film. Glad we cleared the air, now lets begin!

After the events that occurred in "Ted," "Ted 2" follows the foul-mouth talking teddy bear, Ted and his wife, Tami-Lynn's quest to adopt a baby. Once they find out they can't adopt a baby, they also find out that Ted is technically not a person, thus, he is considered property and has no human rights. Distraught over this revelation, Ted (Seth Macfarlane), his best friend, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), and their new friend/ lawyer, Samantha Jackson (Amanda Seyfried) go on a mission to get Ted his rights back. The movie is hilarious, no question about it. When you get the same mind that has created "Family Guy" and "American Dad" to direct a comedy like this, that classic Seth Macfarlane humor is expected.

Ted 2's biggest strengths is the on-screen chemistry between Seth Macfarlane and Mark Wahlberg. The two of them together makes the idea of a grown man having a talking teddy bear as a best friend seem plausible. The jokes seem to be more gross than usual between the two as well. Whether it was smoking weed from a penis shaped bong, or being drowned in a sea of semen, Ted 2 isn't afraid to gross out the audiences. Ted 2 also gets bonus points for some equally hilarious cameos from celebrities. My favorite was definitely the Liam Neeson cameo that included a weird interest in Trix cereal. Ted 2 has it's moments, but not all of them are positive either. Some scenes ultimately didn't land there mark with me. Certain scenes ran longer than needed, such as the opening credits dance sequence. It first it was kind of funny how unorthodox it was, but the longer it went, the more quickly I wanted it to end. The same could be said for the library montage between Ted, John, and Sam. It was funny at first but moments later...meh. Another issue is that as the story continues, the plot seems to get lost among the jokes and somehow reverts back into the finale of the first movie, with Ted getting chased by his creepy stalker, Donny (Giovanni Ribisi) who somehow found his way back into the movie.I absolutely hate the character of Donny, not because I'm suppose to, but because he seems to come off as the Wile E Coyote villain from the old Roadrunner cartoons. He was fine in the first movie simply because he worked as the conflict the plot needed, but in Ted 2, he just seems like a straight cartoon character. Hell, he even dressed up as a ninja turtle to disguise himself.

By the end of this movie, I consider the first Ted to have a better story than Ted 2. Yet, Ted 2 has alot more funny moments than the first Ted. It kind of has a "Ying-Yang" dynamic to it, but overall, I found Ted 2 to be a fun good time, despite it's flaws. Ted 2 gets a score of 3.7 out of 5!