If you liked Ted, you’ll probably like Ted 2, which is really all you need to know. But if you want to hear how it’s not nearly as good as the first one, please, for God’s sake, continue reading to your heart’s content.

Ted 2 has the not-so-lovable title character (voiced by writer/director Seth MacFarlane) trying to adopt a baby with his trashy wife Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), which sets off a chain of events where the teddy bear is declared a piece of property--not a human being (meaning he can’t be married, adopt a child or even hold a job).

The typical shenanigans occur, with returning star Mark Wahlberg and Ted acting like idiots and saying and doing all kinds of crude, inappropriate things for the sake of a laugh, even if the jokes have nothing to do with anything. Amanda Seyfried joins in on the fun, playing Ted’s charming but pot-loving attorney. The movie offers plenty of laughs, though they don’t hit the mark nearly as often or consistently as they did in the first film. Still, if you like your comedy “Family Guy” style--i.e., funny but fleeting--then Ted 2 should be right up your alley.

As funny as it is, you can’t help but notice that MacFarlane is grasping for straws at times, and worse, seems to be unable to cut scenes for the sake of pace or entertainment value. Ted 2 is 115 minutes long when it should have been closer to 90. This could have been accomplished easily by cutting:

• A painfully long and unfunny opening credits dance sequence (I nearly fell asleep)
• A random song sung by Seyfried halfway through the movie (ugh)
• Several tedious courtroom scenes (MacFarlane, what were you thinking???)
• Other random bits that would have been better served as DVD deleted scenes (I giggle, and then I shrug)

Giovanni Ribisi returns to play creepy stalker Donny, too, but really Ted 2 would have been just as entertaining without the return of a villain--a villain who was handled much better in the original.

Ted 2 is not without its merits and if all you want to do is laugh at R-rated jokes, it will do the trick. After all, the role of a comedy is to make you laugh. But its dull and unnecessary plotting bog it down--it’s a flash in the pan, a funny jaunt that I have no strong desire to revisit.

Review by Erik Samdahl.