Movie Review – Ted 2

One, for compulsion

‘Ted 2’ starts exactly where its predecessor ends. Not with John’s (Mark Wahlberg) marriage but with Ted’s (Seth MacFarlane) with Tami (Jessica Barth). Just like how America doesn’t give a fuck, here too the situation repeats, and Ted proves he’s just as human as anyone with the problems with his wife. With Amanda Seyfried instead of Mila Kunis, it’s basically a repeat of the first part in different situation, like how ‘The Hangover 2’ was criticised. Despite the criticism whether ‘Ted 2’ was as funny as ‘The Hangover 2’ was the question.

The film’s story didn’t feel really like a compulsion but the fact that the same question was not raised in part one was what it made the film special. Ted being given a special status, being hallucinated are typical stories which anyone would think of when one starts writing about a lice teddy bear. ‘Ted’ worked because it was stripped off these. That’s the beauty. So, when it starts like this here, it was ‘meh’. Despite the film running on usual lines, it was fairly entertaining with its jokes but wasn’t as wholesome as part one.

Mark Wahlberg was terrific as John. Even though all the concentration was centred around Ted. It was John who makes the film work. He looked tired and gloomy in the film, may be a bit old too but luckily for him, the story’s development can be attributed to this. He’s a man who has tried so much and still lost his wife. Or may be simply they couldn’t get Mila Kunis call sheet.

Another beautiful thing about the movie was that, just like how charming Mila Kunis was in the first movie. Amanda Seyfried does the same in the second movie. For a film, which is largely a boy-guy fantasy movie, it was a welcome change. Maybe it was overdid a little in this part like she smoking pot and playing guitar in the middle of nowhere as if she was born for John. It would have been a bit more realistic if her character had been given a slightly different flavour.

When John says, “Déjà vu” when he gets to know that Donny (Giovanni Ribisi) tries to steal Ted, it was like, what part of the film was not Déjà vu. That’s why there was no thrill around the climax. Worst part was Donny’s kidnap scenes but when John was in bed, it was absolutely clear that he was not going to die, not in this movie. Ted laughing for the joke was more funnier than the entire incident. If it had achieved in making the audience emotional and then broken up to this, it would have been amazing.

The film’s stand out scene would be the ‘cum’ scene, but that’s about it. The first part had many of those laugh out loud scenes which worked like a charm. Here may be the film tried to be nicer or just the director ran out of jokes or worst, I watched the part two too soon and, in a way, unrealistically expected it to be as much funnier as part one. Finally, why Morgan Freeman. He totally didn’t fit the movie. If he had been another guy who’d have had a hilarious interaction with John and Ted, well, that could have been some movie.

Movie Review – Ted

A Teddy for the grown ups

It was one of the films which was lying for a long time in my HDD where I couldn’t decide to watch or to delete. Of course, it’s not acclaimed but the thought of being an Adult comedy with a Teddy Bear was so enticing. Plus, it had Mark Wahlberg who is generally known for his stoic face and upright stance in an action movie. I was more curious on how he’d have faired in a comedy. Also had Mila Kunis, who fits in a similar profile but such a brilliant and lovely actor.

The film sets the tone from scene one. I thought it’d be an unreliable narrator and Ted was going to be like Calvin and it’d take a serious tone but it didn’t, thankfully so. I immediately got reminded of South Park when the narrator says that it was a time where neighbourhood kids gang up to hit a Jew in Boston. It was lovely when a young John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is asked to fuck off, not only the kids who’re beating up, but by the kid who’s getting beaten up too. It gave me a chuckle.

John receives a present in the form of a Teddy Bear and at a stroke of thunder wishes him to be alive and so does it happen. Till that point where he informs his parents about it, I was of the opinion that Ted would indeed be John’s illusion but it greats broken at that point when his parents too are able to see him having a real life. It was another good scene where the narrator comments about how, after years that no one gives a shit, even if it’s a talking Teddy Bear.

I was constantly trying to gauge, why was the film funny. Because its such a simple idea. A role of a friend, someone like Chris Tucker, done by a Teddy Bear. Why didn’t it occur to anyone that a film like this could be made where a Teddy Bear could be considered a real person. Even if it had been done, it would have been an over-the-top fantasy movie, not as a movie like this where the character is both loved and hated.

Even though the Teddy doesn’t grow in size, it does everything an adult does. I mean everything, in fact more than everything and gets along because he’s a Teddy Bear. How cute is that. There is a dialogue in ‘The Hangover Part II’ where Stu says something like, “A monkey sucking on a dick is funny in any language”. Similarly, a Teddy Bear making out with a hot girl at the back of supermarket is funny at any time. He, getting a promotion for that act, betters it. Like Ted says, “Oh Shit”

I can completely understand why this movie would have become such a rage at the time of release. Men and Teddy Bear and not something you could relate to but with Ted, any man can relate to and relate to like hell. He’s everything a man would want, as opposed to what Lori Collins (Mila Kunis) says, that she wants a boy instead of man.

With the flow of the movie, it was evident that she was going to break up with him, he was going to break up with Ted and Ted would do something cute to get together and she’d finally want both of them in her life. So, it was nothing surprising when it happens but wasn’t boring too because of the predictability. Donny (Giovanni Ribisi) and his kid Robert’s (Aedin Mincks) was actually a little damper for me because it felt forced. As if a character like that has to be present compulsorily to make it a grand climax.

It was one of the movies, again, which would have worked even better for people of the culture. Because the Flash part, as much as it was funny for the Coke scene and breakup due to that, couldn’t be as nostalgic as it could be if it had featured Shaktimaan. That’s a miss one would have to undergo whenever watching a non-native movie.

Anyways the best part of the movie was that it doesn’t take itself too serious at any point. Even at such a serious juncture where the jerk of a boss, Rex (Joel McHale) gets rejected for the umpteenth time, he lets out a fart and becomes relieved. That’s some superb writing. Seth MacFarlane does have a flair for comedies.