Thursday, March 27, 2008

Iris and Grandpa Jim Know

As Lynn Johnston whips this For Better or For Worse plot along at a breakneck speed, thanks to the fact this is a drawn and written medium, I find I can still take the time to delight in the little things. The little thing for me is the look of outright horror on Grandpa Jim’s face in the final panel. I don’t know what facial effect Lynn planned for, but when you raise the eyebrows, open the eyes, and put a big frown on person’s face; it is not happy, surprise you are getting, but shock and horror. I also like his overly-long Mr. Fantastic right arm, but the look of horror is what does it for me. OK. I will add that in this panel, the idea that Mike, Deanna and Iris have the bland facial expressions of clothes dummies helps quite a bit.

As far as preposterous goes with this storyline, we get to add the now, Mike-stated idea that Liz fits into the same dress Grandma Marian did perfectly (as if Mike would know). Then Liz, with the dress still on, jumps in the car and hauls Mike and Deanna over to Grandpa Jim’s place to show him the dress. Anything missing there? Calling in advance to make sure this is a good day for Grandpa Jim and that he’s awake? Calling in Elly or April to handle the kids, maybe? No, none of that logic stuff belongs here. Liz has to inform each member of the family she is engaged and have the Grandma Marian dress fully accepted by the end of the week. Damn the torpedoes! Foob speed ahead. Those kids are just going to have to fend for themselves.

This has been a great week. Each strip has been even more preposterous than the first, and the characters are more and more acting like people required to say lines, no matter how out of character they are. Liz’s speech running over the last 3 panels is a classic. Let’s break it down.

I wonder what Grandpa would think if I decided to wear it.
There’s no question mark, so she is stating that she would like to know this piece of information.

I should ask him first.
I think she means to ask his permission to wear it, but she does not state that explicitly.

He probably won’t remember what her dress looked like…it was such a long time ago.
Liz secretly hopes that Grandpa Jim’s memory stinks, so she can wear the dress without having to ask his permission. After all, he can’t complain about something he can’t remember.

Or…perhaps it all feels like yesterday.
Liz has presumed from Grandpa Jim’s expression of horror, that he remembers things from 60 years ago, like they were yesterday. It’s also possible he is befuddled, has mistaken Liz for a 26-year-old Marian, and plans to give her a big kiss. The more reasonable answer is that Liz has not yet told Grandpa Jim that she is engaged or that she is just trying on Grandma Marian’s dress; so he thinks that Liz just got married, he wasn’t invited to the wedding, and she's come over to let him know what happened after the fact.

19 Comments:

Blogger DreadedCandiru2 said...

Oh, wow! I never even thought of that. I knew parading Marian's dress in front of him was witlessly cruel. I should have remembered how out of the loop they keep the poor guy. Of course, he's gonna think that they got married without inviting him or Iris as an act of deliberate cruelty. And, of course, Liz will never realize what horrified him so.

3:43 AM  
Blogger howard said...

dreadedcandiru2,

Even better is that I will guess Liz has not yet informed Grandpa Jim and Iris that she is engaged; since she just told Mike and Deanna.

7:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess Grandpa could be confused, but Mike and Dee are wearing grubbies, and are not dressed like they were at a wedding. And Grandpa seems to be pretty lucid when we get to see his thoughts. Far be it from me to defend the Patterson idiots, though.

The thing I have a problem with is Liz apparently wearing the dress in the car over to Grandpa's, and parading in the door that way. If you really want to ask someone's permission, do you flounce in wearing the dress? It conveys the attitude, "Oh yeah, I've been running around town in your dead wife's wedding dress all day, is it okay with you if I wear it? Since I already am an' all?" I mean, duh.

9:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the thought of Liz flouncing around the retirement complex lobby, in the elevator, and up to their apartment in full regalia.

Bet all the oldsters are checking their meds right now.

I can't believe this "typical family slice of life comic" has fallen so far off the edge. This is getting into Monty Python territory.

And Liz is soooo stupid (sorry, dreaded Styoopid). And Mike is acting like some kind of old lady--weird, weird behaviors from these characters.

10:09 AM  
Blogger howard said...

qnjones,

The thing I have a problem with is Liz apparently wearing the dress in the car over to Grandpa's, and parading in the door that way. If you really want to ask someone's permission, do you flounce in wearing the dress?

This is the best part about the writing for this week is that there is no sense whatsoever of what it takes to go from Point A to Point B. Point A = Here’s the dress. Point B = She put it on. Never mind she is in the kitchen, does not have the proper underclothing for a wedding dress, and Mike is there the whole time.

So now we have Point A = Mike and Deanna’s place. Point B = Grandpa Jim’s place. And never mind any of the issues you have raised. Lynn wants the characters to be at this place, and nothing else matters.

10:46 AM  
Blogger howard said...

debjyn

And Mike is acting like some kind of old lady--weird, weird behaviors from these characters.

Mike has been tasked to be ring and dress appraiser in the strip. Of all the characters to get those tasks, possibly the least qualified.

10:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lana Livingston weighed in at Coffee Talk over the strange "modern antique" wedding dress. I decided it really is fitting for Liz to have a wedding dress that is supposed to be an antique, but looks just like a modern dress so she won't have to give up doing what most modern brides do--which is put a lot of skin on display. (See the trend for strapless wedding dresses.) This is perfect for a girl who always claimed to be old-fashioned, but did not let that get in her way when it came to having sex outside of marriage, helping to break up a marriage, spending the night at her boyfriend's house for sex with his young child in the house, etc.

Now, to my mind, the problem is that Liz should give up pretending to be old-fashioned. I don't really have a problem with the things she's done, except the Christmas night sleepover with Francie in the house. I sure wish Lynn would give up on pretending that dress is old-fashioned. I mean, I also don't have a problem with a bride wanting to wear a strapless/sleeveless dress. But let's stop pretending it's old-fashioned. Because real old-fashioned brides were more modest.

10:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

But Howard, even with your take on Point A/Point B, my complaint stands. If you want to ask Grandpa's permission, do you wear the dress in front of him to do it? Given his mental state, maybe you do bring the dress in a box/bag for a visual aid, but wearing it is over the top. No matter how Liz and the dress magically got to Point B.

11:00 AM  
Blogger DreadedCandiru2 said...

qnjones:

It's perfectly in character for Liz to barge in wearing the dress and ask permission after the fact. This is a woman who's rushing headlong into a wedding who thinks she's fooling people by saying that she's taking it slow. It works on her pumice-brained parents and older brother.
People with actual smarts aren't so easily gulled.

11:47 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just incase you missed this, I’m taking the liberty to repost Anon in Rochester’s late response to "April Knows.” --Anon NYC

anonymous said...
I think this blog is going to see a lot of new people in the next few months (like me, Anon in Rochester). I found it the week of March 3rd, when I went to fborfw.com's strip fix and was ecstatic to see Warren. Then, as the week progressed, and the realization that Lynn was "killing him off" sank in, I knew I had grown apart from my fellow Coffee Talk bloggers whose posts I read during my lunch break (which is only 25 minutes long at the school where I teach!:) Yes, I was a Coffee Talker. In fact, if you want to know just how bad it was, read this. I’m responsible for the fourth post in which I call Lynn a genius after begging her to consider having her readers choose Liz’s husband. Sad, I admit... So, because I trusted Lynn and respected her talents, you can imagine my confusion over the turn of plot events these past four weeks. I accepted the slaying of Paul in the naïve belief that Warren would be the victor in the end. Then I sought refuge by googling FBORFW and found you people, who’ve helped me understand that what I’d hoped for was never meant to be... So now I skim Coffee Talk and analyze Howard’s Blog, taking solace in the fact that I’m not alone. For to be able to snark, one must first love...and clearly, we all loved the Patterson family, at least once upon a time.

My interpretation of, “It has a nice wedding band and a man’s ring to match...” Many engagement rings can be purchased with a matching wedding band and a man’s ring to match. Three rings all together. Gramatically, that’s what Anthony’s sentence means; “to match” modifies both the wedding band and man’s ring. “It” refers to the diamond ring. 

And finally, my one saving grace... Lynn is susceptible to peer pressure. She needs approval. If any of you skim Coffee Talk, the sentiment has changed in the past few weeks. I haven’t done an official study, but it appears that Anthony’s approval rating has dropped from what seemed to be about 65% to about 45% in the past three weeks. I’ve given up completely on Warren, but am grasping to that last hope that the strip ends with Liz as a single woman. (I know, I know... Lynn says it ends with a wedding... She can change her mind. Laura hasn’t drawn it yet.)

1:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Howard reports: “Damn the torpedoes! Foob speed ahead.

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!

Anon NYC

1:34 PM  
Blogger howard said...

qnjones,

I mean, I also don't have a problem with a bride wanting to wear a strapless/sleeveless dress. But let's stop pretending it's old-fashioned.

I agree. There are a number of ways Lynn could have made this work and still carry forth the Grandma Marian sentimentality. For example, Jim and Marian could have renewed their marriage vows in the 1970s, and this could be a dress from that moment.

If you want to ask Grandpa's permission, do you wear the dress in front of him to do it? Given his mental state, maybe you do bring the dress in a box/bag for a visual aid, but wearing it is over the top. No matter how Liz and the dress magically got to Point B.

This isn’t really about Grandpa Jim’s permission. The point this week is for Liz to inform the whole family she is engaged, get that dress on her, and put Grandpa Jim into paroxysms of nostalgic wedding flashbacks. Lynn wants a recreation of this moment, which she can’t get with the dress in a box. No matter what Liz may be saying, Lynn wants the people who cried at today’s silly strip to weep even more tomorrow.

3:40 PM  
Blogger howard said...

DreadedCandiru2,

This is a woman who's rushing headlong into a wedding who thinks she's fooling people by saying that she's taking it slow. It works on her pumice-brained parents and older brother. People with actual smarts aren't so easily gulled.

I think the problem is a matter of definition. Just like “I have no home!” meant “I don’t have a woman at home to manage my house and take care of my kid”; then “taking it slow” must be something not having anything to do with actually taking it slow. Of course, I haven’t quite figured out what that other definition is.

3:40 PM  
Blogger howard said...

Anon NYC,

Just incase you missed this, I’m taking the liberty to repost Anon in Rochester’s late response to "April Knows.” –

Thanks for posting Anon in Rochester’s response to "April Knows”. There were quite a few late posts to that one. I am usually at a quandary what to do about continued discussions on old Blog entries, since I usually do a new one every day and continue my thought processes on the new one. So, sometimes I think people miss some really good late posts like this one.

Howard reports: “Damn the torpedoes! Foob speed ahead.”
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!


Thanks. It was the first thing that popped in my head after reading today’s strip.

3:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mike, Deanna and Iris have the bland facial expressions of clothes dummies

For Mike and Deanna this is true, but Iris looks decidedly different. The fact that she's (appropriately) the only character with irises makes it look like she's giving Jim a fixed, "Village of the Damned" stare. The first thing I thought when looking at that panel was that Jim's aphasia is only a cover; that he's actually either nonresponsive or dead and that Iris is forcing him into some blasphemous mockery of life with the power of her mind.

You know, kind of like the mockery of a relationship Lynne is trying to force into Liz and Anthony.

5:36 PM  
Blogger howard said...

paladin,

"Milborough: Village of the Damned" has a nice ring to it. I could see a foefiction with that title.

5:42 PM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

I think that Iris has the usual "dot" eyes, but that her eyeglasses are creating an "iris" illusion.

Though the zombie explanation would make some sense. ;)

6:08 PM  
Blogger Mrs. Polly said...

Sometimes it seems Lynn is questing for anything to get her through another week, which leads to wooden, awkward narrative. She's tired.
One of Gary Larsen's last "Far Side" panels was just not very good, but the caption said it all: "It was late and I was tired."
There's a good week's material that would have been fun to draw if Liz had put on the dress and found it fit her like a lacy potato sack. After a few jabs from April,(oh and BTW, Howard, April jabs Liz, often without Liz returning the comeback, see week of1/2/06, or 1/2/07, or 12/8/06, sorry I don't know how to link them, and I'm never, never, researching that much FBOFW at one time again!Oh my eyes.)
Elly could spend some of her nervous energy altering the dress, speaking of material. I see her at the sewing machine, her mouth full of pins and a black cloud over her head.
But Elizabeth's suddenly appearing in Marian's dress like that could make poor Grandpa Jim think he'd just kicked the bucket, in fact, perhaps he did! Get the paddles.
It might be natural to ask Grampa's permission to wear the dress, but you should do that before you put it on.
On another note, I went back for further eyestrain, because I somehow missed all the sex Liz and Anthony have been having, and Liz's slutty, other-womanish ways. And I'm still missing it. Is it when Anthony asks Liz if she's going home? Did it happen after that? (Admittedly, since she was putting on boots, it was either a very steeyoopid question or a brilliant one. But they didn't look like that sort of boots)

10:38 PM  
Blogger howard said...

Mrs. Polly,

April jabs Liz, often without Liz returning the comeback, see week of1/2/06, or 1/2/07, or 12/8/06
On none of these occasions does April’s jab at Liz occur at a point in the conversation where Liz is telling April about her dreams for the future. To link strips it is [a href= http://www.fborfw.com/strip_fix/archives/002903.php] the words you want for the link[/a], except replace [] with <>.

On another note, I went back for further eyestrain, because I somehow missed all the sex Liz and Anthony have been having, and Liz's slutty, other-womanish ways.

Because this is For Better or For Worse, Lynn Johnston is not going to say overtly Liz and Anthony had sex. Even back when it was obvious that what she was implying with Becky McGuire, she used the term “roadside.”

The most obvious example was in this strip, where Anthony calls for the check early after Liz grabbed his tie and kissed him passionately. Sex is usually the follow up to that kind of sequence; otherwise there would be no reason for Anthony to call for the check early.

The second example is this strip where Anthony is dropping Elizabeth at her apartment. At the conclusion of the strip, she does not get out of the car, but is putting her seatbelt back on as Anthony prepares to drive to his place (home). Again, no one says “sex”, but you can tell that Elizabeth is not sleeping at her place that night.

1:09 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home