The United States of Tara

[killertofu333]

Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:30pm

Did anyone else catch the pilot episode on Showtime? This show just gives me one more reason to love Toni Collette. I found myself laughing almost the entire time because of her ability to completely change characters and go from wife/mother Tara, to 15 year old T, then to beer guzzling Buck in a matter of seconds. Her performance was flawless and I found the writing to be really funny.

[BudFrump23]

Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:52pm

I loved it! Heartbreaking and hilarious all at the same time. I can't wait to see how these characters develop in the future.

*SPOILER*
My favorite moment was when Buck took it upon himself to get in a fist fight with Kate's 'boyfriend' and then Marshall started kicking him on the ground. I love Toni Collette!

[killertofu333]

Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:57pm

Frump, I loved that part too!!! I think Buck had some of the funniest lines of the entire show. Like when he ate some of Marshall's Muffins of Triumph and said that they tasted "Homo-Made" and then as Marshall was packing up the muffins Buck called him Doris Day. I started crying laughing.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/18/09 at 11:03pm

I think it's like Juno. The whole is better than the parts that make it up and it really doesn't stand up to scrutiny. As for the ability to shift characters "in a matter of seconds," you do realize this show is filmed and edited, right?

[shameless]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 9:01am

I liked the show and I love Toni Collette. I'll watch it again, but I'm not completely hooked.

[yeah]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 9:36pm

I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm a big fan of Toni Collete, I enjoyed "Juno," so, hopefully Diablo Cody can live up to her work in that film, and since "Rachel Getting Married," I enjoy RoseMarie DeWitt. So, I'll keep watching and we'll see what happens.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 9:39pm

I thought it was wonderful, though I wish it were an hour long series.

Toni Colette is brilliant in this (as she is in everything).

The dialogue is very similar to Juno (which I don't have a problem with).

[violet72]

Posted: 1/19/09 at 9:49pm

I liked it and btw if you have showtime on demand the second episode is on it

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:24am

Thanks for telling us about the On Demand second episode. I caught the Pilot On Demand about a week ago but liked it so much that I still DVR-ed it last night and saw it. I'll be sure to watch the second episode ASAP.
Toni Collette is an acting goddess and she shows it well in this show. She is funny, heartbreaking, and plain fascinating to watch much like another famous Showtime desperate housewife (Mary Louise Parker). And Collette does change in a matter of second, her on-screen transformation from Tara to Buck is an example of this. Buck was great but I loved her as T simply because she WAS a teenager and yet you could see Tara sort of coming through. Plus, "drugs not hugs" was one of my favorite lines.
She was magnificent as Buck too.
The whole cast is terrific. The kids managed to not annoy me at all which is a big fete for a child actor in my book, especially Marshall's little relationship with Buck was great (I laughed quite hard when Buck called Marshall Doris Day). I hope the show lasts and that Collette gets recognized. This is much better than that awful CALIFORNICATION thing. I agree with Bobby that it should be a 60-minute show.

[ahmelie]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:31am

I loved it!! Absolutely going to be a new favorite show of mine, I can feel it.

God, Showtime is the sh!t. Dexter, Weeds, and now this?

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:34am

I really enjoyed it as well.

[withoutlovewithoutU]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 11:34am

I am completely in love with this show. The whole cast is wonderful and I truly love Diablo Cody's writing.
I can't wait to see more.

[trinaaron]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:23pm

I guess I am in the minority that just didn't love it. I liked parts (Toni Collette, the reason I even bothered), but I just can't get around the dialogue (NOT a Diablo Cody fan at all). Also, there were some sexual undertones that were just kind of gross, mostly in T's interaction with her family.

[otis33]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 2:48pm

I have very mixed feelings on the show. I do think it needs to find it's legs - and I hope it does. I LOVE Toni Collette and love the idea of the show. John Corbett ain't too bad either!

It felt long to me. I thought it was an hour long show, and was surprised to find out it wasn't. I would have loved the episode to end when she transitioned to Buck, letting us meet him next week.

I am a Diablo Cody fan and think she's a fantastic writer. Though, that said, I also think she needs to be edited. As smart and clever as her writing is, it often becomes too smart and clever for its own good, imo. She's brilliant at creating a world, but I feel like she starts commenting on it with her dialogue, and I become overly aware of it. It takes me out of the story and I start thinking about how witty everyone is when they speak.

I do see huge potential for the show and am very excited for episode 2 - and wish I had Showtime on Demand. WEEDS is one of my all time favs, and I can see this becoming a big hit. I hope so anyway.

[Calvin]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 2:54pm

I saw only the 30-minute edited version available to non-subscribers, but I thought it was pretty mediocre.

Yes, Toni Collette is a very talented actress, but she's really outshining the material here. The whole thing to me felt like an SNL parody of a sitcom, with these continual asinine set-up lines (paraphrased):

Dad: Son, is your mother home?
Son: Well, not exactly...
(cue mom's entrance in her latest crazy personality)

Really, I expected to hear a laugh track at times. Maybe the edited version cut out the best parts?