It all begins in 1985, when a boy named John Bennett (Bretton Manley/Mark Wahlberg) makes a Christmas wish for his new teddy bear to come to life and become his best friend. The wish comes true, and the talking teddy bear, aptly named "Ted" (Seth MacFarlane), becomes a celebrity for a short time. Eventually, however, his popularity wanes, and 27 years later, "nobody gives a sh*t". Now 35, John lives with Ted and his girlfriend, Lori Collins (Mila Kunis) in an apartment in Boston. With John and Lori's 4th dating anniversary, Lori wants to get their lives underway, but John is still very attached to Ted. After an incident in the apartment involving Ted and a few prostitutes, Lori has the last straw and convinces John to make Ted move out. The film's general premise has to do with John being torn between his life of leisure with his best friend, and growing up and being responsible for the woman he loves. In the meantime, Ted has to adjust to a new apartment, a new job, a new girlfriend named Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), and a creepy stalker named Donny (Giovanni Ribisi) and his kid, Robert (Aedin Mincks). This is pretty much the typical "tug-of-war" movie in which the lead has to make a decision between two extremes - in this case, the best friend and the girlfriend. It's all done in the 'Family Guy'-like style that only Seth MacFarlane can deliver, and if you're a 'Family Guy' fan, I see no reason why you wouldn't be into it. All in all, 'Ted' is a lot of fun for those of us who can somehow appreciate the often low-brow, potentially offensive, yet clever and satirical humor of Seth MacFarlane. I would probably sooner recommend this one over the second to a general audience, but there is something about 'Ted 2' I personally like just a bit more. 'Ted 2' is often ranked lower, if only because it makes all of the events of the first film seemingly meaningless. I totally get the criticism, as I've criticized other sequels for doing this - my go-to example being 'Alien 3'. With that said though, this is still a Seth MacFarlane comedy, and I personally feel that comedy is the most flexible genre for something like that. You wouldn't take 'Ted' and call it "the best story about a man torn between his friend and his lover" as much as you'd call it "a comedy about a man and his talking teddy bear". So the sequel never bothered me in that sense. They take time to explain, the explanation makes sense, and things move on. John and Lori get a divorce, pretty well based on Lori always wanting John to be something he isn't. It seems mutual, but John is nevertheless sad about it, and Ted's wedding to Tami-Lynn doesn't really help the way he feels. One year passes, Ted and John remain best friends, but Ted's relationship to Tami-Lynn starts to get rocky. Based on this, the couple decide to try to have a baby. This reaches complications based on Ted not having the appropriate gear, and Tami-Lynn is scarily infertile, so no sperm donor will do. The main plot comes into play when Ted and Tami-Lynn finally decide to adopt and find out, based on background checks, they can't adopt because the state sees Ted as "property" and not a "person". All sorts of complications follow this situation, so John and Ted seek legal help in attempting to fight the state. They seemingly get stuck with a fresh-out-of-school lawyer named Samantha (Amanda Seyfried), who will take their case pro bono. They are reluctant at first, but as the drug tends to do, they bond over their love of marijuana and their mutual disagreement on the War on Drugs. And yes, she is predictably the new love interest for John, which may or may not lead to complications in Ted's case despite the fact that she's trying her best. It's probably just me, but I tend to like Samantha over Lori. Lori was good for him in many ways, but Samantha is just more fun. John can just be himself without any issues around her, and Seyfried is really able to roll with the punches in this - she's made fun of a few times and just sportingly goes with it; something one ultimately HAS to be able to do, working for someone like MacFarlane. Meanwhile, Donny makes a return as well, working as a janitor for Hasbro. When he gets wind of Ted being seen as property, he convinces the CEO, Tom Jessup (John Carroll Lynch) to hire an expert attorney to make sure Ted remains "property". With this, they'd be able to take Ted, dissect him, and figure out what makes him tick so they could potentially make a whole series of him. Donny would keep one for himself, and Hasbro would rake in the profits. Again, there's a bit of a cliche thing going on here with "cutting him open to see what makes him tick", but at least it connects with the plot this time and isn't just some creepy stalker cameo to create a threat. There is something I like about 'Ted 2' a bit more, and if I had to try to place my finger on it, I'd say it's more about the subject matter than the jokes. I thought it was interesting and new to have the toy-come-to-life fight for his rights. These movies parody the child-like wonder situation by asking "what happens when they grow up?" I think it's funny that they go to such extremes which you feel could be real honest to God problems with the living toy situation. This one makes me laugh, but the jokes still may not be as solid as the jokes in the first one. So much of what made the first one hilarious was the very idea of it. 'Ted' was a trailer that came along and caught everyone off guard. 'Ted 2' didn't catch anyone off guard, it was simply fans wanting Ted's further adventures. Whether you like the first one or the second one more, one can still have a fun time just playing them back-to-back. I personally can't watch one without following it up with the other. There's something about MacFarlane's fast and loose comedy that I can't help but admire - it's the same idea I have with Trey Parker and Matt Stone in that their humor isn't afraid to just "go there". Audiences kind of accept them for who they are, and are able to decide they aren't their cup of tea without stirring up a whole lot of controversy (although don't get me wrong, it happens). I wouldn't just recommend this material to anyone and everyone, but if you enjoy MacFarlane's humor, I say treat yourself - just remember that you're bound to hear or see something that might get under your skin.
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