Reviewed by
maroon5gurl88 on Sun January 18, 2009
The Story: Tara (Toni Collette) is just your average American mom and wife with a slight difference. That difference is she suffers from multiple personality disorder that affects her when she’s stressed. Her personalities range from a wild 15-year-old girl named T, a 1950s housewife named Alice and a chain smoking Southern man named Buck. The personalities drastically alter how she interacts with her children and husband (John Corbett).
Pros: The United States of Tara has an impressive pedigree that goes with it ranging from its star, Academy Award winner Toni Collette to its writer Diablo Cody who wrote Juno. This sets up the show for some truly hilarious moments that are dependent on Cody’s witty dialogue and Collette’s impeccable delivery. The pilot focuses on Tara herself along with her alter egos T and Buck. T has some hilarious moments interacting with Tara’s husband and daughter. Her constant flashing of her thong and language is just perfect and sets up some interesting chemistry with the kids. Buck is the most unique personality as not only is he male, obviously, but the “alter” is left handed, something the rest of the family points out. While there is a lot of humor drawn from these multiple personalities, the show also looks at the real-life problems associated with the mental illness in terms of how it affects others. You see Tara’s children have to deal with their mother being in and out of their lives, as well as how it affects her husband, and sister (Rosemarie Dewitt). It should be interesting to see how the show progresses, showing how these personalities mix with the real world. A great scene is when Buck decides to go to the daughter’s ballet recital. What is implied throughout the show is that the alter egos all know they are part of Tara’s family and there is love there. When Buck starts the applause at the recital, you see that deep down these alters really are parts of Tara. The humor in this also ranges from the physical to some subtle dialogue bits that made me laugh out loud.
Cons: The show is only 30 minutes and this episode spends a lot of time with the egos that the main crux of the family really gets pushed to the side. I have no doubt everything will balance out as the series progresses but I would have liked everything to meander a bit more.
Acting: Tara would be a difficult character for any actress as they would have to play four distinct roles and be constantly switching off. Collette is more than up to the task as Tara and her multiple personalities. She makes each one unique but still has the humor and wit that makes her so talented. As T she’s rambunctious and snotty, as Buck she’s macho and as Tara she’s self-deprecating and loving. I could easily see Collette garner some awards if the series keeps fleshing out so well. John Corbett also turns in a fine performance as her husband. You can see that he loves his wife, but is constantly being thrust into awkward situations with the alter egos.
Overall: I think The United States of Tara has the potential to fill the void of those looking for some comedy on a premium channel. I was highly disappointed with Entourage this season but I think this show will more than fill the hole. I give the pilot a 4/5.
