Episode Report Card Deborah: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Maybe He's Born With It...Maybe It's Maybelline
By Deborah | Season 1 | Episode 21 | Aired on 05.06.2004
It's early in the morning, and Helen's sitting in her sun-filled kitchen, musing about something. We see a shot of a painting resting on the counter; it's quite an evocative painting. It's hard to describe, but it's sort of a person's head, bowed slightly in something like prayer. The foreground is dark, and there are no facial features I can really discern. There are lots of strong, warm yellows and oranges in the background -- but they're moody oranges and yellows, not perky oranges and yellows. If this is the work she's doing now, she has really progressed. Will arrives and greets her, wondering where she's been all night. She says she's been up all night; couldn't sleep. Jeepers, I wish I could come up with something like this painting when I can't sleep. Instead I just get up and answer email and post crap on the internet. Will says she should have woken him up: "I would have massaged you to a blissful stupor." He notices the painting and asks if it's new. Helen tells him it is, and that she wanted to see how it looked in the morning light in the kitchen, which she loves. Will can't believe she's been painting all night: "You're gonna be dead." Helen: "It just poured out of me. It's like I was plugged into some universal palette." She touches the painting fondly. She asks him what he thinks. Will: "It's nice." Helen, disappointed with the clueless and perfunctory response: "For-get it."
Luke comes in as Will backpedals: "No, I love it. What? It's great." Luke sees it: "Whoa. There's a painting on the counter." Helen sighs and asks Luke what he thinks of it. Luke: "Uh, well, you know, I'm not really conversant in the technical jargon of the fine arts, but from a right-brain intuitive perspective, I'd say, aesthetically, it's very appealing." Helen: "Thank you. I think." Joan and Kevin come in, bickering. Kevin: "What part of 'please stop talking about it or I'll kick your ass' don't you understand?'" Joan: "Free speech, newspaper boy." Will asks, "How can you gear up so fast in the morning?" Joan: "Kevin doesn't want me to tell you we ran into Beth Reinhard yesterday." Kevin: "Thanks." Helen thinks that's great. Kevin doesn't want to talk about it. Joan: "Why are boys so mind-numbingly numb-minded about girls?" That's rich, coming from Joan. Kevin suddenly notices the painting and wheels over to it and says, "Wow…Mom. That's cool. I mean, it's truly terrific." Joan: "That does kinda rock, Mom." Helen: "It's nice to have kids who appreciate my work. Your dad's more of a dogs-playing-poker kind of guy." Will's annoyed: "Oh, come on, what do you want? I said I loved it." Helen: "Fine." He says he has to go and that he'll call her later. He kisses her on the cheek while she stands there stiffly. The kids sit at the table in awkward silence.