Finally a Patterson Pays
One of the things I wondered about Mike and Deanna's fake wedding was whether or not the Pattersons paid any part of it over and above the wedding dress. Traditionally the groom's family pays for the rehearsal dinner, which can be expensive in its own right. Today's For Better or For Worse has an indication, however obscure, that the wedding dress was the only thing. April is, for some reason, taunting her father about how he will have to dress up and do something for this wedding, which he did not have to do for Mike and Deanna's wedding.
At my wedding, I put all the fathers in morning suits regardless of whether or not they were escorting any brides. Thanks to the wonderful world of divorce and remarriage, we had 4 sets of parents to deal with, and it was a lot easier just to put all them in the same outfit than to deal with any issues about conformity of dress, and my wife's step-father, who had not worn a suit in years. Given the statement by April about John's tux, it is fairly safe to say he did not wear a tuxedo to Deanna and Michael's wedding and apparently did nothing (that April observed) as a part of the ceremony. The other thing I note is that John makes a comment about the wedding costing him a bundle, and if the Pattersons paid for a rehearsal dinner, I would have expected a similar comment. Also, it would have been too easy to have Mira Sobinski make a comment about the rehearsal dinner and butt heads with the Pattersons over their choice of rehearsal dinner location. I can't imagine Lynn Johnston missing out on an opportunity like that.
As for the bundle John is paying, there are some indications that he is really paying it. When Liz made the comment about whether or not to have the wine served at the table as an option, I knew we were moving into an expensive wedding. The single most expensive item of my wedding was the reception, and the single most expensive item at the reception was the alcohol. I had often suspected that Anne Nichols was going to donate the reception, just as Lawrence Poirier is paying for the flowers and Anthony Caine's uncle is paying for the tuxes; but I have not seen one mention of Anne with this wedding. I also expect Josef Weeder is doing the photography, but there has been no indication of him either. So, if Dr. John Patterson is paying for a reception with table service wine, then the wedding really is costing him a bundle.
I have had to readjust my thinking about the message Lynn Johnston was sending out about weddings, with the wedding preparation. After making fun of Mira Sobinski and Mother Verano at their children's weddings, I was sure the message was, "Expensive weddings are bad." Since Liz is going for a wedding costing a bundle, what appears to be the situation is that "Weddings where the daughter lets others plan the wedding for her are good." I have never seen a wedding like that, but who am I to judge?
At my wedding, I put all the fathers in morning suits regardless of whether or not they were escorting any brides. Thanks to the wonderful world of divorce and remarriage, we had 4 sets of parents to deal with, and it was a lot easier just to put all them in the same outfit than to deal with any issues about conformity of dress, and my wife's step-father, who had not worn a suit in years. Given the statement by April about John's tux, it is fairly safe to say he did not wear a tuxedo to Deanna and Michael's wedding and apparently did nothing (that April observed) as a part of the ceremony. The other thing I note is that John makes a comment about the wedding costing him a bundle, and if the Pattersons paid for a rehearsal dinner, I would have expected a similar comment. Also, it would have been too easy to have Mira Sobinski make a comment about the rehearsal dinner and butt heads with the Pattersons over their choice of rehearsal dinner location. I can't imagine Lynn Johnston missing out on an opportunity like that.
As for the bundle John is paying, there are some indications that he is really paying it. When Liz made the comment about whether or not to have the wine served at the table as an option, I knew we were moving into an expensive wedding. The single most expensive item of my wedding was the reception, and the single most expensive item at the reception was the alcohol. I had often suspected that Anne Nichols was going to donate the reception, just as Lawrence Poirier is paying for the flowers and Anthony Caine's uncle is paying for the tuxes; but I have not seen one mention of Anne with this wedding. I also expect Josef Weeder is doing the photography, but there has been no indication of him either. So, if Dr. John Patterson is paying for a reception with table service wine, then the wedding really is costing him a bundle.
I have had to readjust my thinking about the message Lynn Johnston was sending out about weddings, with the wedding preparation. After making fun of Mira Sobinski and Mother Verano at their children's weddings, I was sure the message was, "Expensive weddings are bad." Since Liz is going for a wedding costing a bundle, what appears to be the situation is that "Weddings where the daughter lets others plan the wedding for her are good." I have never seen a wedding like that, but who am I to judge?
posted by howard at 10:03 PM
9 Comments:
howard,
After making fun of Mira Sobinski and Mother Verano at their children's weddings, I was sure the message was, "Expensive weddings are bad." Since Liz is going for a wedding costing a bundle, what appears to be the situation is that "Weddings where the daughter lets others plan the wedding for her are good."
There is something to that premise. After all, both Deanna and Shawna-Marie were actively involved in planning their wedding while Liz is delegating like mad. Someone in Corbeil seems to be so used to having things handed to her on a tray that she's come to think of it as normal and good.
dreadedcandiru2,
The other possibility is that this method of doing a wedding is necessary for anothor reason. We have seen several strips that refer to the wedding planning process as this unpleasant, awful thing. We have also seen strips with Elizabeth getting stressed out over things that are pretty simple. April made this comment to Liz after she made the arrangements for the flowers with Lawrence Poirier with little effort, and she is just the teenaged sister of the bride. Moreover, we have seen the bridesmaids and the sister talk about doing many other tasks that most brides would consider to be too personal to let someone else handle. This delegation of activities, in combination with seeing Elizabeth stressed out over nothing, implies that Elizabeth is too incompetent or too emotionally fragile to accomplish the task. If you consider Elizabeth in total, what you have is a long sequence of a woman who has grown increasingly dependent on others, with hardly the ability to think or accomplish anything on her own. Even her kid sister makes her look weak and inferiour, and the best Elizabeth comes off is when she looks pretty in her dress and says nothing.
howard,
This delegation of activities, in combination with seeing Elizabeth stressed out over nothing, implies that Elizabeth is too incompetent or too emotionally fragile to accomplish the task. If you consider Elizabeth in total, what you have is a long sequence of a woman who has grown increasingly dependent on others, with hardly the ability to think or accomplish anything on her own.
This is a horrifying truth. For some strange reason, Lynn has turned her into a physically larger version of whiny little Baby Nizzie whose sole purpose was to look cute and latch onto a Daddy who'd give her the comfort she needs. It's just that this time, Daddy's name is Anthony.
I'm sorry, I can't give Dr John Patterson a pass on this. Free wedding dress. Free alterations. Free flower girl dresses made by someone who has been painted as horrible. Free flowers. Free tuxedos. Maybe Anne won't cater, but there is no way Weed is not the photographer.
The Pattersons have gotten a many-thousand-dollar discount on this wedding. So pity John, only a poor dentist, who might have to pay for something.
This is exactly like a doctor acquaintance of mine who constantly spends all her money on ski trips, then tries to bond with me on how we are all short of cash these days. She can do what she wants with her money, but whining that it's all gone afterward is bad form.
howard,
I feel it fair to warn you of Lynn's plans to redeem Awfulny; check out these excerpts from his upcoming bio. She's decided to retcon his past so that he spent his whole life with abandonment issues, thereby putting the 'pathetic' in 'sympathetic'.
Thursday Next,
The Pattersons have gotten a many-thousand-dollar discount on this wedding. So pity John, only a poor dentist, who might have to pay for something.
That's the way it's been with this family for awhile. For years, we had to endure Mike the majour magazine editor and his pharmacist wife, with their complaints of poverty. The big difference for John Patterson this time, is that he is actually paying for something which does not directly benefit him. That's a rare move for him.
Ditto to Thursday Next! I mean a few months ago we had to hear John and Elly moan about the fact that they'd have to start being "careful". If that had any weight behind it shouldn't John and Elly have had a sit down with John and Elly 2.0 about their financial situation and how that would effect the wedding budget? Once agin logic and common sense invade Lynn's dimented fantasy bubble.
And as a side note to the sneak peak of Anthony's bio No! No! No! No! No! This is wrong and offensive on so many levels and it's only a preview.
ruth,
She might as well have had Daddy Caine channel Gary Busey and say(a) that Mrs. C left because he was just too real and (b) that he'd be damned if he'd let her 'ruin' Awfulny. As people on the Foobiverse say, there's Harry Potter slash-fic that's more plasuible.
Anthony Caine has been a perpetual thorn in Lynn Johnston's side ever since Anthony saved Liz from Howard Bunt and then did his "I have no home!" and "Wait for me!" speech just afterwards. This scene revealed (a) that Anthony planned for his marriage to end and (b) showed that his wife Thérèse was justified in her jealous accusations of Anthony being interested in Liz.
Lynn tried retconning Thérèse in the strip last year to make her seem more evil with comments from Candace Halloran and Elizabeth; but effectively turned Anthony into a guy who ignored his wife's post-partum depression, and complained when his wife wanted him to have manners and not embarrass himself in public. The criticism of Anthony still kept coming.
Then Lynn tried her letter to the Coffee Talk a few months ago explaining why Anthony was a good guy, and unfortunately for her, she could not make the case for it. Her points that Anthony is good because he works for Gordon Mayes and because he hasn't stunk as a single parent did not fly with her audience. The criticism kept on coming.
This is the first time we have had a preview of a Beth Cruikshank bio / retcon, and considering the subject matter, it seems obvious to me that Lynn Johnston is once again trying to convince her audience, via a different medium than her strip, that Anthony is a great guy. I think she should give up. The die was cast back with Howard Bunt.
Post a Comment
<< Home