What works in
Ted 2 is what made the first film a runaway smash and that is the undeniable chemistry between Mark Wahlberg and the titular potty mouthed bear voiced by writer and director Seth MacFarlane. What doesn't work about this unnecessary but warranted sequel are coincidentally the same things that didn't work the first time that being the dispensable subplot involving Giovanni Ribisi's character. Don't get me wrong, I think Ribisi is an interesting actor and the weird, off the wall stuff he does in these movies is not what makes his parts bad, but more they simply feel tacked on and only present to create some kind of conventional plot that allows our heroes to overcome some kind of danger so that we get a happy ending. The thing is, MacFarlane has enough of a conflict on his hands here that Ribisi's subplot is even more extraneous than it was in the first film. The same can be said for many of the jokes in the film in that they are largely superfluous. No matter how funny they might be the majority of them don't pertain to the story in any fashion. In fact,
Ted 2 feels less like a real movie and more like a series of scenarios MacFarlane thought might be funny to see these characters in that are strung together by the overriding quest to prove Ted is a person. As a result of this series of one-note jokes (and others that are revisited more times than necessary) the script feels patched together with the biggest example of this being the comic-con set finale that seems to only serve as the backdrop so that MacFarlane can make as many pop culture references as his heart desires. This, for me, is a double edged sword as I appreciate the references to a degree (I laughed at Patrick Warburton showing up dressed as The Tick than anything else in the movie) in that I enjoy a rough around the edges R-rated comedy that has a flair for pop culture awareness and lampooning such culture, but the over-reliance on these jokes for its source of comedy makes it obvious there is little care taken to evoke jokes from the actual story and therefore makes the story feel less important. In the end,
Ted 2 is a movie that I laughed at quite frequently, but could have just as easily done without being as I saw the first one and this sequel (especially by the third act) ends up feeling like a complete retread of the original.
