To his credit, Mason allows the dinner discussion to turn to Cindy and her plans, and unlike Funky, does so without being condescending. Given the opportunity to discuss her pressing career concern with someone who actually seems interested, the woman who bailed on her alcoholic first husband instead raises her glass with a tiny hand. Guess these days it’s Cindy who’d “rather have a drink than a discussion”! 
Tag: Hollywood
The Expedition
“Lewis and Clarking“? Does anyone use that expression, particularly when thinking to themselves? The answer is kind of a “yes”, though “Lewis and Clarking” as defined at Urban Dictionary might get you thrown out of the restaurant. Speaking of the restaurant, the caricatures on the walls behind our couple lead me to believe that this date is taking place at the Beverly Hills Palm, where Mason grabbed a bite with Les last summer.
Who’s tripping down the streets of self-pity?
Who’s popping in the door at Montoni’s
Moping about her lack of romance
Who’s being condescending to Holly
Everyone knows it’s Cindy
And Cindy has forlorn eyes
That drop as she now realize
-es that maybe she is no prize
For Mason Jarr
For Mason Jarr
Apologies to The Association.
Jarr Jarr!
In today’s strip, Mason “Hollywood” Jarr thanks St. Les the Righteous Smirker for some as-yet unspecified “help.” Les’s speech balloon in panel 3 is too small to contain the text I expected: “Mason Jarr, the movie actor who was meant to portray me, Les Moore, whose one true wife died of cancer, but then couldn’t, because kill fee, and took the job of portraying Starbuck Jones in the coming Starbuck Jones film adaptation, in which Mason Jarr appears.”
Back in panel 1, with its rakish split-screen motif, Mason’s poolside phone chat illustrates why California is so much better than Ohio. Mason’s illustrator, however, has failed to pick up on recent trends in portraying action heroes. Here I’m thinking of Chris Pratt’s transformation from amiable schlub to rock-hard stud. Mason, in contrast, looks positively couchey-potatoey, gooey-wooey.
All I would have to do to become an action star is move a mere ¼ inch from reality, without logging any gym time, if this awesome guy is any proof.
What’s a Hemingway?
Major props as always to Beckoning Chasm, and to David O, Epicus Doomus, and Oddnoc, for helping me keep the snark fires burning every day!
As the first autumn leaf drops, Les and Cayla pack up the old porch swing. What is surely intended to be romantic small talk could be read as icy, dismissive sarcasm with the addition of some quotation marks:
I’m glad you’re home, “Hemingway”…I missed you while you were “doing your Hollywood thing.”
After all, Les’ ultimately doomed movie project once promised big bucks and dreams of stardom. Instead, he’s back in Ohio with nothing to show for his time in LaLa Land.
On a side note: every Sunday strip since August 3 has had these black borders around the panels…is Batiuk finally copping to how morbid and depressing his strip is?
Son of Stuck Funky 
