Connie: Even More Pathetic
After reading today’s new-run of For Better or For Worse, I have no idea how Lynn Johnston is going to be able to make Connie’s trip to Montreal to chase after Phil work. Phil tells Elly in no uncertain terms, he is not the one for Connie. If Elly tells Connie what Phil says and Connie ignores it, then Connie will come off as a raving lunatic, so obsessed that she has lost control and won’t listen to common sense. Given the way Connie continues to manhandle Elly in today’s strip, that may be the way we are going. On the other hand, if Elly lies to Connie about what Phil said, then she is a friend of the worst sort. The only way I can see this coming off is if Lynn completely rewrites the story and Connie does not go to Montreal. However, those are the reprint parts of this story, and I don’t see Lynn Johnston leaving out her “reprints that let me take a vacation” strips.
The other thing that particularly strikes me in this strip, especially in the final panel, is how big Elly and Connie are. Connie used to be rail thin in the early strips. This figure for her, looks more like her modern day figure.
As for the punch line, it keys entirely off the expression on Elly’s face. Connie has seen some thing on Elly’s face which makes her think that she has no chance with Phil. And yet, there is nothing on Elly’s face in Panel 4 that wasn’t there on Panel 2, and what’s more, little motivation for humour.
The other thing that particularly strikes me in this strip, especially in the final panel, is how big Elly and Connie are. Connie used to be rail thin in the early strips. This figure for her, looks more like her modern day figure.
As for the punch line, it keys entirely off the expression on Elly’s face. Connie has seen some thing on Elly’s face which makes her think that she has no chance with Phil. And yet, there is nothing on Elly’s face in Panel 4 that wasn’t there on Panel 2, and what’s more, little motivation for humour.
posted by howard at 10:51 PM
13 Comments:
Both Connie and Phil keep using the speech pattern Lynn uses for much, much younger characters.
"An'" "wanna" etc...
I'm almost certain she's recycling these lines from a "teen years" strip.
Or else (as when John complained about getting dressed up during the wedding) she's decided that most of her adult characters talk like whiny 11 year olds.
You're right about the figures: both Connie and Elly have their modern, defeated, boobs-hanging-to-the-waist shapes. I know Elly has given up on her appearance years ago, but you'd think someone as desperate for a man as Connie might invest in a push-up bra.
I'm starting to wonder about the Montreal story, too, especially how (or if) she will handle Lawrence breaking his leg, as I think that might have mentioned school rather than pre-school, since Lawrence finds himself the centre of attention because of his cast.
OTOH, it does give Elly a chance to lord it over "feminist" Connie, as it was shows clearly in the strip that Connie knew about Lawrence's accident and debated whether or not to return to Milborough, and chose to leave him with the Pattersons while she went to hear Phil at the jazz club, an ultimately fruitless attempt to lure him back into her clutches. Elly could make this guilt trip last for decades.
howard,
If Elly tells Connie what Phil says and Connie ignores it, then Connie will come off as a raving lunatic, so obsessed that she has lost control and won’t listen to common sense. Given the way Connie continues to manhandle Elly in today’s strip, that may be the way we are going.
I'd like to think that that isn't a possibility but it seems to be what Lynn might intend. In the original version, she was simply a poser feminist, big on preaching but poor at practicing her purported beliefs. In the new version of history, her need for male companionship at any cost has driven her violently insane. She's become what the characters on the Canadian animated show "Total Drama Island" refer to as a psycho hose beast.
On the other hand, if Elly lies to Connie about what Phil said, then she is a friend of the worst sort.
She never impressed me as being all that good a friend to Connie in the first place. If she does lie to spare her feeling, she might think that she was doing the right thing but she'd be wrong. What's worse is that by unleashing her needy whack-job of a friend on poor old Phil, she's also a fairly poor sister.
So...if Elly doesn't tell Connie what Phil said, then Elly is acting exactly like the folks in Mtigwaki?
But of course, when a Patterson does something, it's totally different....
Elly would be acting much worse than the people of Mtigwaki. None of them were Liz's best friend and she never asked any of them what was going on. Also, I seriously doubt Paul ever told any of them that he was with Susan now -- all they had were their own observations. And finally, why would any of them have any loyalty to Liz? She came, she shtupped a local boy, she ran back home. Calling Liz and telling her what her ex-boyfriend was doing would be extraordinarily strange, and Paul was her ex-boyfriend as soon as she took off. Their loyalty would be to the teacher and cop who stayed, not to the flighty white goose.
Phil would have told Connie this stuff already, they've been established as talking regularly. I can only assume that this strip is Elly's dream. Next, she will comfort Connie by dimming the lights and offering her hot coffee.
clio-1 You're quite right - given that Paul and Susan were old friends, it would actually be malicious gossip to report to Liz that they were spending time together.
Short of public tonsil inspections, or maybe conspicuous overnight visits (but it's a long drive ...), the folks in Mtig would have only suspicions. For all they knew, Liz and Paul were definitely broken up OR Liz knew that Paul was seeing his old friend Susan platonically.
InsertMonikerHere,
Short of public tonsil inspections, or maybe conspicuous overnight visits (but it's a long drive ...), the folks in Mtig would have only suspicions. For all they knew, Liz and Paul were definitely broken up OR Liz knew that Paul was seeing his old friend Susan platonically.
You are quite right. In real life, this is how things play out. The neat-in-a-horrific thing about it is that it makes Liz's blanket condemnation of the good people of Mtigwaki even more immature and revolting than ever. She owes every last one of them an apology. (Kind of like Lynn owes that same thing to the citizens of Lynn Lake for identical reasons.)
Anonymous,
Both Connie and Phil keep using the speech pattern Lynn uses for much, much younger characters.
You’re right and it is unusual. It was rare when a “grown-up” character would use that kind of language. I wonder if Lynn thinks that the use of such terms is a part of her de-aging of the adult characters for the new-runs, like “Elly has a small nose and says, ‘wanna’. Therefore she is younger.”
forworse,
You're right about the figures: both Connie and Elly have their modern, defeated, boobs-hanging-to-the-waist shapes.
I know Elly has given up on her appearance years ago, but you'd think someone as desperate for a man as Connie might invest in a push-up bra.
In the 1980s Elly was fairly thin. Annie was bigger, but Connie was very thin. Of course, Connie as a hardcore feminist, wouldn’t wear a bra since it would symbolize her subjugation to men.
I'm starting to wonder about the Montreal story, too, especially how (or if) she will handle Lawrence breaking his leg, as I think that might have mentioned school rather than pre-school, since Lawrence finds himself the centre of attention because of his cast.
It does grant Lynn an opportunity to develop young Lawrence with something special about him other than his association with Mike. However, Lynn has a tendency to place the emphasis on Connie. Once Lawrence was out of the closet and out of the house, his appearances in the strip were few and far between.
DreadedCandiru2,
She's become what the characters on the Canadian animated show "Total Drama Island" refer to as a psycho hose beast.
Canada is responsible for that show? My kids were rabid viewers. Now, I know I can blame Canada.
What's worse is that by unleashing her needy whack-job of a friend on poor old Phil, she's also a fairly poor sister.
That could be where we are headed with this. New-run Elly has moral issues with her family that reprint Elly never had.
(Kind of like Lynn owes that same thing to the citizens of Lynn Lake for identical reasons.)
I often wonder how the people in Lynn Lake feel about Lynn, considering her public slams of the place.
clio-1,
Elly would be acting much worse than the people of Mtigwaki. None of them were Liz's best friend and she never asked any of them what was going on.
You have to understand that Liz was revered in Mtigwaki. It did not come across in the strip very well, but giving that spirit name to Liz is a giant honour in the First Nations tribes. When I was researching all this business for April’s Real Blog, I discovered that this honour was typically given to people who had spent a lifetime serving a First Nations community. So, naturally a Patterson who spent 2 years in the community would deserve it.
Calling Liz and telling her what her ex-boyfriend was doing would be extraordinarily strange, and Paul was her ex-boyfriend as soon as she took off. Their loyalty would be to the teacher and cop who stayed, not to the flighty white goose.
That’s how it would certainly be in real life. However, the real story of Mtigwaki is its parallel in real life to Lynn’s husband Rod’s affair with a member of her staff. Her staff apparently did not clue Lynn into the affair, and Lynn blamed them for it. I expect this was a strong motivation in her firing of almost all her staff last year, once the storyline through Liz’s wedding was completed.
Phil would have told Connie this stuff already, they've been established as talking regularly. I can only assume that this strip is Elly's dream. Next, she will comfort Connie by dimming the lights and offering her hot coffee.
The strip would be so much better and more interesting if it went in this direction.
InsertMonikerHere,
Short of public tonsil inspections, or maybe conspicuous overnight visits (but it's a long drive ...), the folks in Mtig would have only suspicions.
As I recollect the Mtigwaki people, their children hang around the teacher’s house and stare in her window at all times of day or night. I could see them knowing every little detail.
Yes, but I think Paul has sense enough to close the blinds :-)
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