The plot for this episode kicks off when J.J. delightedly informs his family that “Marcy Jones is crazy about [him],” and shares that she has asked him to paint her portrait. We learn that Marcy, a fellow student at J.J.’s high school, won the class beauty contest that year, and is the most popular girl in school – leading Thelma to question why she would be interested in J.J. “Simple,” J.J. explains. “When you’re on the top of the heap, all you notice is the top of the other heap.”

Despite his typical bravado, J.J. is bowled over when Marcy arrives at his apartment; he initially stares at her in stunned silence with his mouth literally hanging open, stammers over his words, and offers an inane introduction to his parents (“This one’s my mother, and this one’s my father”). He even absent-mindedly tries to follow Marcy into Thelma’s bedroom when she goes to change her clothes for the portrait.

As for Marcy, she’s uber-flattering to James, and claims to “talk in school all the time” to Thelma (when Thelma has already told her parents that Marcy never even speaks to her). James is impressed by Marcy’s “sweet, well-behaved, and respectful” nature, but both Florida and Thelma are spotting some very colorful red flags. It turns out that the women were correct to be suspicious; after J.J. finishes the portrait of Marcy, recites a poem he’s written especially for her, and prepares to ask her to go steady, Marcy reveals that she has a boyfriend and that the painting is intended as a graduation present for him. J.J. is understandably crushed, and vows that he’s “finished with women.” Seconds later, though, he gets a telephone call from another girl and before you know it, he’s reciting the poem he wrote “especially for her.”

This episode underscores the accuracy of Florida’s wisdom and intuition, demonstrating how easily the Evans men could be swayed by sweet talk and fawning. Marcy calls J.J. charming and compliments his “mighty sharp” outfit, and tells James that he looks too young to be J.J.’s father – and they’re both grinning like a couple of Cheshire cats, ready to hand her the world just for the asking. But Florida has Marcy’s number from the get-go.

We also get to see a rare glimpse of sisterly support from Thelma. When J.J. learns that Marcy has a boyfriend, Thelma looks at her brother with sympathy, telling him “it’s not the end of the world.” She even gives him a loving – if brief – pat on the shoulder. It’s nice to see.

By the way, the episode also contains a couple of those (many) Good Times moments that make me laugh no matter how many times I see them. One is when J.J. wants his parents to leave the apartment so he can enjoy some “privacy” with Marcy. James is all for the idea, until he remembers the outcome of such a request when he and Florida were dating. John Amos’s comedic response is priceless. Another moment comes when J.J. recites his “How Do I Love Thee” poem to Marcy, as James, Florida, and Thelma listen from the kitchen table nearby. When J.J. reads the line that serves as the title for this post, about the “two sweet lips with teeth in between,” James is so overcome with mirth that he gets up from the table and collapses in laughter at the kitchen sink. It’s a hoot, and gets me every time.

Pop Culture Connections

The Flip Wilson Show

At the start of the episode, Thelma is certain that J.J. has taken her missing face cream, but she learns that the culprit was her father. James confesses that he ran out of plumber’s grease, so he used her face cream to connect two pipes under the kitchen sink. “Don’t worry, baby,” James assures her. “First thing in the morning, I’ll go down to the store and buy you a nice, big jar of plumber’s grease.” When Thelma questions her father’s statement, Florida tells her that James has recently heard that “Flip Wilson won’t be back next year, so he’s bucking for the job.”

Florida is referring to The Flip Wilson Show, a popular variety show headed by Black stand-up comedian and actor Flip Wilson. The show first aired on NBC-TV in September 1970 and was cancelled near the end of the 1973-74 season (reportedly due to a decline in ratings for variety shows, and because Wilson’s frequent requests for pay hikes caused the show to exceed its budget). The last episode of the series was in June 1974, about a month after this Good Times episode aired.

Let’s Get It On

Willona pays a visit to the family and asks what is happening with J.J. – she shares that she spoke to him in the hallway, but J.J. just walked by her singing, “Let’s Get It On.” Willona is referencing the song by singer Marvin Gaye, which was released as a single in June 1973, and was the title track on the album of the same name that was released in August 1973. The sexually suggestive tune was one of Gaye’s most successful singles, reaching number one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart three months after its release.

“Thanks, I Needed That!”

In preparation for Diane’s arrival, J.J. shaves and puts on after-shave lotion, which he’s seen patting on his face as he emerges from the bathroom. He then briskly slaps his own cheek and says, “Thanks, I needed that!” This is a reference to a series of well-known commercials advertising Skin Bracer after-shave by Mennen which, according to the advertisements, “wakes you up like a cold slap in the face.” One of the commercials is below. (Incidentally, the narrator of the commercial is actor Adolph Caesar, who you might know from his Oscar-nominated performance in the 1984 film A Soldier’s Story.)

Wrigley Field

J.J. wants his family to vacate the apartment so he can be alone with Marcy; when they refuse, he gripes that he “might as well pop the question at Wrigley Field.” Wrigley Field is the baseball stadium on the north side of Chicago that is the home of the Chicago Cubs. It was opened on April 23, 1914.

Guest Star:

Marcy: Ta-Tanisha

Born Shirley Cummings in the Bronx, New York, on January 15, 1953, Ta-Tanisha later moved with her family to Detroit, Michigan, and then to Los Angeles. In 1969, she made her television debut on an episode of The Mod Squad, and the following year, she appeared as a high school student in her first film, Halls of Anger, starring Calvin Lockhart. In the early 1970s, Ta-Tanisha studied theater at the Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles and performed in several plays, including A Raisin in the Sun. She also began appearing in a variety of television series, including Mission: Impossible (which earned her a nomination for an NAACP Image Award), Mannix, and The Partridge Family; had a small role in the popular 1973 film, The Sting; and was a cast member for two years on the television series Room 222. She continued to work steadily throughout the 1970s and 1980s, mostly guest spots on TV series or in made-for-TV movies.

Ta-Tanisha has been married since the early 1970s to actor Lee Weaver, who has appeared in a wide variety of television shows, from I Spy to Grace and Frankie, and in such films as Heaven Can Wait (1978) and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005).

Other Stuff:

This episode contains the first reference to the fact that James grew up on a farm in Mississippi.

In the scene where Willona tells Florida that J.J. walked by her singing the Marvin Gaye song, Ja’Net Dubois actually sings the song’s title, revealing that she had a lovely singing voice. Dubois began her career on the stage and appeared from 1964 to 1966 in the Broadway musical Golden Boy, starring Sammy Davis, Jr., and Lola Falana (as well as Johnny Brown, who would join the Good Times cast as Nathan Bookman in the second season of the series). Also, she released several albums, including Queen of the Highway in 1980, and she co-wrote and sang the theme song for the long-running sitcom The Jeffersons.

Another mention regarding the ages of the main characters comes up in this episode. In Episode Five, Michael Gets Suspended, it’s implied that Willona and Florida are not the same age, because Willona jokingly threatens to reveal Florida’s age to her children. But in this episode, Willona reminisces about a boyfriend Florida had when she and Florida were 17 years old. The age question will be completely blown apart in an early second-season episode, so stay tuned for that.

This episode marked the first of three appearances that Ta-Tanisha would make on the show.

I wasn’t able to find out the name of the real-life artist who painted the portrait of Marcy, but it’s not likely that it was the painter of most of the artwork by J.J. on the series, Ernie Barnes.

Florida has a line where she tells Willona that J.J. is “gussying up” for Marcy. This term always stands out to me because who says – or has ever said – “gussying up” in the Black community???

The next episode: Florida Flips . . .