Film Review- "Ted 2"

Ted 2
Directed by Seth MacFarlane
Starring Mark Whalberg, Amanda Seyfried, and Seth MacFarlane

We meet again, MacFarlane.

After the disappointing A Million Ways To Die In A West, I wasn't quite sure what to expect here. I know the "Family Guy" mastermind can do as much bad as he does good, but the first Ted is one of my favorite films. The reviews started to come in, and they weren't good. Then I saw it for myself…and I was pleasantly surprised to find I disagreed with the critics.

Ted 2 opens on the marriage of Ted (MacFarlane) and Tammy Lynn (Jessica Barth), while John's (Whalberg) marriage to Lori (The absent Mila Kunis) has fallen apart. I don't love the way they wrote Mila Kunis out of the sequel but let's move on. Ted and Tammy Lynn decide they want to have a baby. For obvious reasons they can't conceive, so they try through other means, such as sperm donors and adoption. This unearths the startling revelation that in the eyes of the government, Ted is not a person with civil rights, but property.

Unable to adopt a child, his civil rights non existent, and his marriage to Tammy Lynn annulled , Ted sets out to for justice. He hires a young, inexperienced lawer (Seyfried), named "cleverly" Samantha L. Jackson, whom John starts to get smitten with. Ted begins an uphill battle to get his life back, against the likes of a cutthroat lawyer played by John Slattery, and the vengeful return of that creep Donny (Giovanni Ribisi) from the first film.

I don't think anyone expected this to be the story of this sequel, but that's a good thing. It's creative, and it's not a rehash of the story of the original. I mean if you're going to do a sequel, make sure it's a story worth telling, right? Like the original, this film has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, although a few gags are either A. Recycled from Ted or B. Recycled from "Family Guy". MacFarlane is at his best here, managing to leave moments for heart and sincerity here, which is what made the first Ted such a success. It's not constant crude humor like A Million Ways To Die In The West, thought there are some jokes that made me cringe (It's Seth MacFarlane remember). To be honest I think MacFarlane knew what made Ted work so well, so he made sure to stay reserved for Ted 2.

Whalberg and MacFarlane resume their roles in true form, and once again have great chemistry. Seyfried is a welcome new addition, and does a fine job filling in the lead female role for Kunis. I'd actually argue this one of her better performances. Jessica Barth is given more to do as Tammy Lynn, and actually becomes a real character. There are plenty of hilarious cameos in this film that I'd dare not spoil for you.

Ignore the critics, folks. If you loved the first film, you'll love Ted 2. It's another mark in the good column for Seth MacFarlane. Grab your thunder buddy and head to the theatre.

Film Review- "A Million Ways To Die In The West"

A Million Ways To Die In The West
Directed By Seth MacFarlane
Starring Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, and Neil Patrick Harris

I guess you could say in the debate of wether to like or dislike Seth MacFarlane, I lean more towards like. I lost interest in Family Guy a long time ago, although I do enjoy the older episodes. Ted is one of my favorite films, I thought his album "Music Is Better Than Words" was good, and I know I'm in the minority when I say I thought he was good hosting the Oscars.

However, I know that MacFarlane can do as much bad as he does good. I'm looking at you The Cleveland Show, American Dad, and short-lived Fox sitcoms Dads and The Winner. After the success of Ted, combined with my love for Blazing Saddles (The original western-comedy), I had high hopes for his next feature film, A Million Ways To Die In The West.

It goes without being said, but A Million Ways is no Blazing Saddles.

The film centers around Albert (MacFarlane), a sheep farmer in the old west. After chickening out on a gunfight, his girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) leaves him for mustache aficionado Foy (Harris). Shortly afterwards, the wife of an outlaw (Theron) comes to town. She takes a shine to Albert, decides to teach him how to shoot, and hopefully win his girl back. Of course they start to fall for one another, which of course is a problem, seeing is how Anna's husband, outlaw Clinch Leatherwood (Neeson), is on his way to town.

It's a unique enough story for the western setting, but what about the comedy? Where Ted was  charming, outrageous and crude, A Million Ways is outrageous and crude, sans charm. A lot of the jokes seem like they were scrapped from an episode of Family Guy. There is plenty to laugh at, but I found throughout the film I was chuckling and smiling to myself, more than laughing out loud.

At some points, MacFarlane is definitely at his crudest. I never thought I'd see a Neil Patrick Harris take a dump in a hat, or a sheep's penis in a film, but there it is. That's not a spoiler by the way, no, that's a warning. Speaking of spoilers, while one great cameo was given away in the trailers, there a few more that are just fantastic.

This is an impressive cast as you can probably tell. The big problem is they aren't really given the chance to exercise their funny bones. Most of the comedy is given to MacFarlane, who as a leading man, is just okay. Charlize Theron get some laughs. Sarah Silverman and Giovanni Ribisi get their fair share of the comedy, but others like Neil Patrick Harris, Liam Neeson, and Amanda Seyfried are criminally underused.

A Million Ways To Die In The West is not Seth MacFarlane's best, but it's also not his worst. The good outweighs the bad, and you'll definitely laugh. But the cast isn't giving the performance you'd hope they would, and the script isn't as well polished as Ted was. If you see it once, that's probably enough. If you don't see it all, no big deal.