Ted 2

The big difference in other crude, rude comedy films with 4-letter words, toilet humor, drug use and sexual innuendo and with "Ted 2" is that even though "Ted 2" embraces all the above ingredients as with the other films of this type, the aforementioned film is much better written than the other so-called comedies which are totally inane.

Ted (voice of Seth MacFarlane) ties the knot with Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), and recruits his best friend John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) as a sperm donor in order to start a family in this sequel to the comedy hit about a teddy bear that comes to life. Later, when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts demands that Ted appear before a judge to prove he's a real person, the frisky bear and his pal vow to fight for their civil rights by hiring new attorney, Samantha Jackson (Amanda Seyfried) to accomplish this task. The state seems to have the problem of a human and one that isn't human (being Ted) to be married, so it is up to Ted, John and Samantha to prove otherwise.

Others to round out the cast are Giovanni Ribisi as Donny, Morgan Freeman as Patrick Meighan, Sam J. Jones as Sam Jones, Patrick Warburton as Guy, Michael Dorn as Rick, John Slattery as Shep Wild, John Carroll Lynch as Tom Jessup, Ron Canada as Judge, Cocoa Brown as Joy, Liam Neeson as Customer and Tom Brady as Himself.

As with the original "Ted" '12, this, too is crude, rude and vulgar which is actually the 'meat and potatoes' of this premise. It is the quintessential guy flick with all the sexual innuendo, 4-letter words, drug use (in a funny way of course), and vulgarity in how we treat each other. It was directed by Seth MacFarlane ("Ted" '12, "A Million Ways to Die in the West" '14) plus lots of TV. "Ted" made a truck load of money, so Hollywood had to jump on that cha-ching gravy train that they do oh so many times with so many films. This is no new news. It was written by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild. This being similar with the original, it should be no surprise since they both were written by the same three guys. There is a subplot in this with Giovanni Ribisi and John Carroll Lynch plot to steal Ted that does have a tough time connecting with the actual plotline, so a continuity problem ensued here. Original films are typically fresher, if for no other reason than of its original approach, so this really didn't click as well as its predecessor.

Certainly if you liked "Ted", you'll like this next installment. But even though one might like this franchise and might not care for this installment, don't worry, because who knows, maybe "Ted 3" might just resurrect this franchise.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                            Rated: R                              115mins.