Ha. I just spent several minutes Googling what being an assistant cinematographer entails. It doesn’t seem to be a very common job title. The closest listing I could see was just someone posting looking for someone to assist the cinematographer by carrying heavy cases and cameras for them. Which I do think Jess is more qualified to do that than anything involving actual camera work. The actual cinematographer oversees all lighting and cameras for the entire film, so there’s no way Jess is even close to qualified for that.
I do think it’s pretty hilarious that Cindy recommended Jess for that job. Either Mason is doing the hiring, or Cindy just walked on to the set and told the producer to hire Jess, or maybe Buddy Blog is actually making the sequel themselves. None of those would surprise me.
This strip really is kind of amazing, though. Batiuk brings up a dilemma-will Jess take the job?-and resolves in a single panel. I can’t remember the last time he didn’t drag this kind of thing out for days.
Hot John Darling’s Daughter-on-Boy Lisa Action
Two panels of Jess and Darin making out. I don’t think we needed two panels of them making out in the entire history of this strip, let alone back to back on one day. And I really don’t like Batiuk making us thing about what Darin’s breath tastes like.
Tomorrow’s strip: Darin and Jess are undressing each other right in the middle of the concourse, and Darin says he’s glad he switched to his clean pair of Flash underwear.
Unsurprisingly Lame
So ends the epic saga of Butter and Zanzibar. Ha. This strip being what it is I’m sure we’ll have several more storylines about that stupid thing. The movie premieres at the Valentine, Butter and Zanzibar happen to still believe and drop by the theater, Cindy and Jess win Oscars, Butter and Zanzibar tell Cindy and Jess about another murder they committed so they can make a sequel documentary.
This is like the third or fourth time Jess/Darin have flown cross-country this year. And it’s just as boring now as ever. I’m used to Batiuk’s incredibly low standards for this strip, but there isn’t anything remotely surprising about this. I have a feeling we’re supposed to find this all touching, which I’d be shocked and disturbed if there were any Jess/Darin shippers out there.
I would seriously love tomorrow’s strip to be Darin saying he’s at work now and can’t pick Darin up, so maybe she should’ve called ahead of time.
Sunday, July 21
Link to today’s strip.
Okay, so apparently the documentary is done now. If last week really was the conclusion to the Butter storyline that’ll be pretty amazing.
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen a coffee shop that served ice cream. And does anyone else feel like Batiuk has been pushing that Darin and Jessica are in love with each other a little too hard lately? I kind of feel like maybe he took the comments about Darin and Pete’s relationship and is trying to prove everyone wrong. “So what if Darin and Pete ran off to the Flash Museum together to buy dollies, look how horny Jess and Darin are for each other! And Pete has a girlfriend now!”
Chimpageddon
You know what would be useful when you’re trying to pass off jealousy as a motive for murder? Maybe establishing that the murder victim was in any kind of relationship that would inspire jealousy. Or that Valerie was going to steal Butter away and he’d leave Zanzibar behind, but then I really don’t think “jealousy” is the word to use in that case. Like, I don’t think there was even a hint that Valerie and Butter had ever even talked to each other, let alone that they were in a relationship. Also, the house was full of people, so why would Zanzibar kill Valerie instead of anyone else? Unless Zanzibar was in Butter’s bedroom, waiting for him, or saw Valerie enter the room, and then became jealous because only he was supposed to pay nighttime visits to Butter’s room? I mean, this might possibly be the first time in a mystery story where the jealous lover murderer is a different species than his love interest. I seriously hope it is, at least.
Maybe all those loving glances Cliff was giving Zanzibar were totally intentional.
Also, Butter was acquitted, and just had to go back and live as a millionaire for the rest of his life? After covering up for a murder? When he was totally responsible for that murder? And he was okay letting the murder victim’s family think he murdered her? So what interested Cindy enough to film a documentary was “an old actor got acquitted of murder and never acted again, but was still a millionaire” and not “a famous up and coming actress was brutally murdered, and nobody ever paid for it, and the crime was never solved”?
And we’re supposed to be sympathizing with Butter? I mean, I don’t want to read too much into this here, but the point of this story really seems to be “What if a rich and famous guy was accused of doing something incredibly terrible to a young woman, but he got acquitted and she was dead? That’d be real bad for the guy, right?”.
Son of Stuck Funky 
