It’s hard work being a mother and juggling a husband, a career, a university course and two teenage children. Fortunately for the lead character in The United States of Tara, she has seven other people to help her out.
Unfortunately for Tara those other seven people are sharing her body with her; they are multiple personalities she manifests. Add to the mix a whiny sister, a sociopathic daughter and a gay son who is not only facing a dating dilemma but is also constantly rebuffed by the Emmy people despite being a much better role model than Kurt Hummel. All together you’ve got enough material for 7 seasons of the show. Unfortunately, it’s been cancelled after only three. Let’s enjoy it whilst we can. Lie back on the couch, watch the pendulum swinging and relax as we psychoanalyse the final season of United States of Tara (Tuesdays, ABC- 9:30pm)
United States of Tara is a brilliant, darkly comic drama starring Australian actress Toni Collette (Muriel’s Wedding, Sixth Sense as Tara Gregson, a wife and mother who also suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality Syndrome.
During times of stress or fatigue, or when a particular memory is triggered, Tara’s personality is temporarily replaced and her body occupied by one of seven alternate personalities, all also played by Collette. The actress is phenomenal in each of the different roles. Collette was so awesome in the part she won two Emmy Awards for Best Actress.
The seven alters that Collette portrays in addition to Tara are:
T- a sexually frank teenage girl.
Buck- a gruff, right-wing male Vietnam vet (whose penis was shot off during the war). Buck is a heterosexual man and does not let his ‘penis problem’ stop him from pursuing women he wants, including Pammy (Joey Lauren Adams, the squeaky-voiced lesbian), who falls in love with Buck (but not Tara!) and professes her love for him over the PA at a roller skating rink. I know, I’m shocked too- I didn’t think roller rinks were still around either.
Alice- the perfect, proper domestic goddess, who makes Stepford Wives look like Jersey Shore.
Gimme- a bestial, animalistic creature that destroys furniture, urinates in (and on) public and has no real grasp of language.
Chicken- a representation of Tara at age 5. And just as annoying as ALL children aged 5.
Dr. Shosshana Schoenbaum- a psychiatrist from a book loaned to Tara by her gay neighbour, Shosshana is aware of her status as an alter but still acts as a psychiatrist to Tara- meaning that she is her own psychiatrist. Freud would have a field day.
Bryce- a representation of Tara’s psychotic, abusive 14-year old brother (think Michael Myers from HALLOWEEN, but not as nice). Bryce is determined to ‘kill’ all of Tara’s alters and then Tara herself- as well as anyone who gets in his way.
In addition to Tara and her posse, the show also features her family and their extended friends. Tara’s husband Max is played by John Corbett best known as the breakout hunk from Northern Exposure and Aiden in Sex and the City.
Tara’s sister, Charmaine (Rosemarie DeWitt) is one of the two characters on the show that I could do without. She suffers from a weak character arc, which basically revolves around being pregnant- and that’s it. Also, she’s been pregnant for the entire three seasons of the show and has yet to have so much as a contraction. I mean I’ve heard of long gestation periods, but was the father of her kid an elephant?
Tara’s daughter Kate (Brie Larson) is the show’s equivalent of Jack Bauer’s daughter on 24, in that five minutes after meeting her, you want to gouge out her brain with a rusty oyster fork. Perky and quirky in equal amounts of stroke-inducing rage, Kate is self-absorbed to such sociopathic dimensions she makes Bella Swann look like a non-ironic female role model. She mooches off the family, changes boyfriends and jobs with a speed that would make the most ardent ADHD kid exhausted and whines constantly about being burdened with such a dysfunctional mother.
The major drawcard for the show and for a queer audience, however, is Tara’s 16-year old son, Marshall (Kier Gilchrist). Initially confused about his sexuality, in Season 2 Marshall came to realize he was gay- and has rapidly become one of the best and most realistic portrayals of a younger gay man on television., His character arcs have all been fantastic- falling for a fellow student who spurns him due to being a fundamentalist Christian, being stalked by a girl who just won’t take ‘I’m gay’ for an answer, and getting his first friend (and later boyfriend) Lionel (Michael J Willette, who starts off bitchy, but grows on you).
Season 3 sees Tara trying to return to college and finish a degree in Abnormal Psychology and coming up against both a sceptical but intrigued professor (played by English comedian, cross-dresser and ‘bisexual male lesbian’ Eddie Izzard) and a dangerous new Alter, the possibly homicidal Bryce. Charmaine continues to be pregnant, but there are signs that her litter might actually drop this year. Kate switches jobs (again) and boyfriends (again). Marshall officially begins dating Lionel and there’s a gay love-triangle with another gay student, Noah (Aaron Christian Howes).
United States of Tara has Emmy-award winning acting, warring personalities, cute guys and girls and a phenomenal gay character. Watch it multiple times!
Gavin Pitts
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