The United States Of Tara

I know this is not a movie but I have just finished watching the final episode in a TV series I’ve fallen in love with and I had to write about it.
I had heard about this show from my readings in the trade papers but before I saw it I did not know much about it. But once I saw the first episode I fell in love. I watched it with my friend Richard and if you could ask him he will tell you I was just simply amazed at its brilliance. I was totally blown away by how good it was. There have not been many TV series in which I love right from the first episode. Diablo Cody is fast gaining a reputation as an excellent script writer in Hollywood and these series further cements that reputation. She has now become one of my writing heroes. I hope to someday be as good as her. But sometimes it can be a bit intimidating at how brilliant it is.
One of the many things I love about the show is how accepting Tara’s family is of her condition. They accept her for what she is and don’t really complain all that much. It is so refreshing to see that in a story these days. I like how her kids even use some of the ‘alters’ to have fun with. Then there is Tara’s husband, Max. As mentioned, many husbands you see in these stories would not be as supportive of Tara and her ‘alters’ but Max loves her so much that he copes really well with his wife and her ‘friends’, especially the rambunctious Tee. However not all things her ‘alters’ do are good as we saw in one episode when Tee makes out with a guy Marshal has a crush on.
Besides the great stories in the series the show has some brilliant performances. Tara’s kids played by Brie Larson and Keir Gilchrist are excellent. Keir I especially like as it is so nice to see young gay characters being portrayed in TV. Finally things are changing. Brie as Kate is great too. I was not really as taken by her story and her relationship with her boss. Rosemarie DeWitt as Tara’s sister is the one person on the show who has the most amount of trouble with Tara and her condition. I suppose there had to be one person who was not completely cool with it. One of the big revelations is John Corbett. I know he has done ‘Sex And The City’ but I’ve not seen him do much since ‘Northern Exposure’. I think he is brilliant in this show.
The greatest thing though is Toni Collette. This woman is simply amazing. I think this is one of the single greatest acting performances in anything ever. Each episode completely blew me away. Just the way she inhabits the character of each alter and becomes them. I’m so proud that she is Australian. I’ve admired Toni before in movies but her role here is just so brilliant. I don’t think there are enough words in the English language to describe how good Toni is. I’m sorry I’ve been gushing so much but I just cannot contain my feelings about how good she is.
The series has just finished on Australian TV and I can not wait for its release on DVD and the second season. I cannot encourage you to watch this show enough. For anyone who lives near me I’d be willing to let you borrow my DVD when I get it to pass on the goodness.