It’s probably just coincidence that the Supreme Court decided to rule on gay marriage the same day “Ted 2” hit theaters, although considering some of the Constitution-deaf dissents in that case, maybe some of the justices are fans of the franchise and were smoking Ted’s favorite natural remedy. Like the first film, which made my top 10 of 2012, “Ted 2” delivers shallow-but-clever laughs that will be gobbled up like a bag of Doritos by certain folks. But my personal drug of choice is Sour Patch Kids, and I liked it too.
I suspect a lot of the humor of “Ted 2” would come off crasser if Ted were a human rather than a sentient teddy bear. However, hearing the cute plush bear spout politically incorrect words for gay people and use “f—in’ ” as an all-purpose adjective softens the blow a bit. The script – as is usually the case from Seth MacFarlane, who also directs and voices the title character – is smarter than the material might seem to warrant.
The movie makes a rock-solid case that Ted deserves equal rights under the law (he wants to marry Tami-Lynn and adopt a baby with her). It leans slightly toward the liberal view that rights are something to be gradually doled out to more people by the government as time passes, rather than the libertarian case that natural rights supersede government. But that quibble is probably unique to me. It also mistakenly says Ted doesn’t pay taxes, yet he works at a grocery store – that means taxes are taken out of his paycheck, even if he doesn’t do his proper filing in April.
The humor of “Ted 2” is delightfully absurd. A highlight is when Ted, his best bud John (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted’s lawyer Sam (Amanda Seyfried) come upon a field of marijuana and the “Jurassic Park” theme plays. Incidentally, while John is depressed over his divorce from Mila Kunis’ character from the first film, his relationship with Sam works better because she has no hang-ups about weed. I’m not sure if Kunis was absent because of scheduling or plotting issues, but this new group has effortless chemistry. The way the thunder buddies deal with John’s pornography-filled computer is another snort-worthy gag.
Cameos featuring celebrities making fun of themselves is nothing new, but “Ted 2” serves up a delightful smorgasboard of famous people trying to outdo each other in being self-deprecating, starting with a supposed dark secret harbored by Jay Leno. “Ted 2’s” zingers spare no one, not even the beautiful Seyfried or the stentorian Morgan Freeman, who plays a big-time civil rights lawyer. While the return of the villainous Tiffany- and teddy-bear-loving Donny (Giovani Ribisi) from the first film doesn’t add any new flavors, the climactic visit to New York City Comic-Con does. Fans of “The Tick” are in for a particularly great visual gag.
“Ted 2” is largely on cruise control, with an important but obvious civil-rights plot serving as the foundation for lots of blunt (both meanings intended) humor. But it’s intelligent crass humor. And I’m proof that you don’t need an illicit substance to enjoy this sequel.
