In 2012, one adorable, albeit incredibly foul-mouthed, teddy bear took the world by storm. With his classic, furry good looks, unparalleled swagger and penchant for pot-fueled humor and sexually-charged antics, an unlikely leading man catapulted Universal Pictures and Media Rights Capital’s small comedy ‘Ted’ is about a stoner dude and his best friend to its status as the highest-grossing original ‘R’-rated comedy of all time. This July, Seth MacFarlane returns as writer, director and voice star of ‘Ted 2’, the follow-up to the blockbuster that launched the career of the world’s most outrageous bear is joined once again with Mark Wahlberg as John Bennett, the thunder buddies for life as they enter into uncharted territory.
It’s time to legalize Ted.
In the years since we last saw John and Ted, they’re both still living the dream in Boston. Although John is now a bachelor, Ted has settled down with Tami-Lynn, the trashy woman of his dreams. As marital problems begin to affect the newlyweds, Ted and Tami-Lynn decide to have a baby in order to save their marriage. Their hopes are crushed when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts declares Ted to be not a person, but a property, and therefore ineligible to adopt. He is fired from his job at the grocery store and summarily informed that his marriage has been annulled.
Angry and dejected, Ted channels his frustration and asks his best pal to help him sue the State and win him the rights that he deserves. They enlist a young, medical-marijuana aficionada named Samantha L. Jackson (Amanda Seyfried) as their lawyer and head to court. But when Ted loses his case, the three must venture on a road trip to New York in a last-ditch effort to persuade legendary civil rights attorney Patrick Meighan (Morgan Freeman) to take on their appeal. If they win, they will prove that Ted is not just a beer-swilling, pot-infused stuffed teddy bear, but actually a person who deserves the same freedoms as any other beer-swilling, pot-infused American.
MacFarlane directs the comedy from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborators, and ‘Ted 2’ executive producers, Alec Sulkin & Wellesley Wild (TV’s ‘Family Guy’).
Returning cast members to the ‘Ted’ series include Jessica Barth as Tami-Lynn, Ted’s fellow cashier and now blushing bride; Giovanni Ribisi as Donny, Boston’s favorite psychopath who has hatched a new plan to kidnap Ted; Patrick Warburton as Guy, John’s fight-club-loving friend and co-worker; Bill Smitrovich as Frank, Ted’s odd supervisor at the store; and Flash Gordon himself, Sam J. Jones as John and Ted’s childhood hero. As well, renowned film and theater actor Patrick Stewart returns to serve as the comedy’s narrator.
Joining Freeman in the cast who are also new to the series are John Slattery as Shep Wild, the hotshot lawyer hired to represent the case against Ted; Michael Dorn as Rick, Guy’s new boyfriend; and John Carroll Lynch as Tom Jessup, the CEO of the toy company who is in cahoots with Donny to kidnap Ted.
Leading off the numerous cameos are New England Patriots’ quarterback and Super Bowl winner Tom Brady as Ted’s potential sperm donor and Dennis Haysbert as Ted and Tami-Lynn’s fertility doctor. They are joined by a who’s who of comedy stars, whose appearances we won’t spoil.
Opening in the Philippines on July 15, ‘Ted 2’ is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.
