new show review: United States of Tara
From the title and promo artwork, I thought we were looking at some kind of sketch/variety show. Doesn’t it look a lot like the latest Tracy Ullman effort or something? But United States of Tara is actually a dramedy about a woman suffering from multiple personalities disorder, created by Steven Spielberg and written by Diablo Cody.
While the title character promises to entertain, and Toni Collette undoubtedly has the chops to portray all of her personalities, the true strength of this show is the normalness. The rest of her family barely flinches if Tara lapses into ‘T,’ Tara’s fifteen-year-old “alter.” The arrival of an “alter” is fun for Tara’s daughter, a little embarassing to her artsy son, mildly annoying to her very patient husband, but commonplace for them all. Only Tara’s sister Charmaine can’t seem to handle the transformations, claiming that multiple personalities, “isn’t even a disease.”
Much like in Juno, we don’t have huge conflict. Rather, very interesting characters have life happen to them, and the results are enjoyable to watch. And while nothing special happened, there is plenty of promise for future storylines. It appears Charmaine is carrying a torch for her brother-in-law, and Tara’s male “alter” ‘Buck’ ironically can’t stop accusing her/his son of being gay. USoT looks like it will be a welcome addition to the world of envelope-pushing pay television original programming.
Best aspect: Diablo Cody keeps her overly stylized dialogue coming only from the character of ‘T,’ which is where it belongs.
Worst aspect: No real complaints from me. It did, however, feel like a one-hour show trapped in a half-hour’s body.
Verdict: My viewership is USoT‘s to lose. For now, I’m interested.
Odds of success: Showtime is a safe place for a daring show. I expect a slow buzz to build and this show to be a sleeper hit.
Xanthe Neal on 
jane on