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The Appropriate Inappropriateness of Ted 2
Read this if you can’t get past its vulgarity
As a mom to two young children, I won’t make them watch the Ted movies — yet. But in the future I’ll make sure they do.
Here’s the lowdown on the Ted movies for those who tend to dismiss them and can’t get past their inappropriateness.
Patrick Meighan (played by Morgan Freeman) is a respected civil rights lawyer. Halfway through the film, he delivers a blow to the foul-mouthed talking teddy bear, Ted: it’s not possible for Ted, who is technically a property, to get a legally “human” status — with IDs, the right to get married, get employed, adopt a child, etc. Because, according to Meighan, what defines humanity is doing something great for the race, and all that Ted had done were inappropriate things like drugs, getting arrested, generally being a bad example.
The inappropriate film is so appropriate today, and ever. Because towards the end, Meighan stood corrected. After witnessing the deep friendship between Ted and his “owner” John (played by Mark Wahlberg), the lawyer understood that what makes us human is not “doing something great” but something simpler, more basic. It’s the capacity to care, to feel complex emotions — even if it’s just within the small, ordinary sphere of a friendship, with no bigger relevance…
