Monday, January 16, 2012

My Latest TV Obsession: United States of Tara

I recently came across the Showtime series called United States of Tara created by Diablo Cody, the Academy Award® winning writer of Juno. Suburban wife and mother Tara Gregson juggles her family and career while suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder — a condition formerly known as multiple personality disorder. It's never a dull moment in the Gregson household, as Tara's supportive husband Max and their two teenaged children, Kate and Marshall, try to lead as much of a "normal" life as possible.

Tara and her alters... can you guess who's who?

Tara's family is saddled with having to deal with the various people Tara becomes -- Alice - a 50's housewife desperate to make everyone happy, Buck - an ornery Vietnam vet who loves his beer and the titty bars, and T - a slutty 16 year old who seems to get Tara in trouble a lot. And that's only the first season. But I don't want to ruin it for you so you'll have to watch to meet the other "alters".

 Let's just say I'm obsessed with this show right now. I love that it's just a half hour so I can easily sneak an episode here and there. And it's only 3 seasons -- totally manageable and I expect to finish season 3 tonight. Toni Collette is ridiculously amazing as Tara and her many personalities. It has got to be a lot of work keeping them all straight! John Corbett is totally humpable in his role as Tara's husband Max. And their two kids are very entertaining -- Kate, a sassy teen (Brie Larsen), and intellectual Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) -- I almost watch it more for the cast than the actual plot.

Love this family -- this cast is so much win!

So during my marathon watching this weekend (it's been too cold to do anything else but snuggle under the blankets and watch TV), I noticed something... This show takes place in Overland Park, Kansas. There is a scene in season 2 that shows the exterior of a restaurant. I thought it looked really familiar so I went back and sure as fucking shit, it's the exterior of a restaurant in Freeport, Maine called Azure Cafe. I nearly crapped my pants.

Seriously... I even had to take a picture of my TV screen!

And even funnier, in season 3, daughter Kate appears to be schlepping around a brand new LL Bean tote bag -- which doesn't fit her style at all. Looks like the production crew did a little shopping while filming locations in Freeport. I totally cracked up. Kate has a very eclectic style -- in one episode in the final season, she wore a bear jumper that was freaking awesome. If you're looking for something fun to add to your Netflix queue, I recommend giving Tara a try.

I can't figure out why I love this jumper so much, but I do. And I don't even like dresses.

It's a quirky dark drama with some laughs sprinkled in... especially when Buck is around. And if you've already seen this show, what did you think of it? I don't have much experience with mental illnesses but I thought this show was done well.

8 comments:

  1. I started watching this last night. ML hates you, LKW.

    And I really love that bear jumper and kind of want it. Is that weird?

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  2. I love this show!!!! Well, loved :( I'm pissed Showtime cut it!! Waaah waaaaaahhh...

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  3. Like I REALLY need something else in my Netflix queue! Hoping for a massive blizzard... Oh wait, then I would just have to work from home (working from home has essentially killed snow-days for me - boo). FML. I need more hours in the day!

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  4. I will never be productive, ever again... Thank you :) Now give me a bear jumper!

    I have seen a few episodes, and been meaning to add USoT to my queue. Mostly because I think Toni Collette is a fucking genius, but also because I have a dear friend who has Disassociative Id Disorder. It's...An interesting friendship. I will now make this comment 4x longer than it needs to be...

    Her wife is amazing, I don't know how they do it. I was only just introduced to "The rest of the kids" last year, after we had been friends for a good solid year. I am fascinated, and truly humbled that they trust me enough, and know that I love them unconditionally, that they can share that part of their life with me.

    It's been fun, sad, exciting, and frustrating getting to know these other people. Everyone knows what's what, and her doctors say she will always have them around in some fashion, but they pose absolutely no threat, and she is in full control. Bizarre doesn't even start to describe...

    It is kind of fun though, when you can tell that someone is coming out to check out the scenery. Subtle body language shifts, posture, gestures, facial expressions...It's amazing and kind of freaky. And that's my personal experience.


    ....In conclusion, I will watch this show when I finish pirating the first few episodes of VD season 3 since they aren't on hulu.

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  5. Three days and three seasons later, I'm finally emerging from a netflix bender. Am I the only one who loves Alice? Seriously, I would make me a woman and be a Stepford-lesbian-husband if she'd bake fancy cupcakes with pretty piping. LOL

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  6. I totally noticed the Azure thing, too! I had to pause it and look again. How weird is that? It's 10 minutes from my house. I didn't know they filmed in Maine at one point, but that makes sense. I started Netflixing this last week and can't stop watching it... Am so sad that I'm going to run out of episodes by tomorrow! :)

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  7. I watched all three seasons in about a week. ML is going to kick your ass, LKW.

    Strongly recommend watching it! Really good.

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  8. Wow! I'm glad I'm not the only one! I totally had to hit that 10 seconds back button and pause it cause I knew I'd seen that before! Pretty cool. Maine is a beautiful state but doesn't show up enough in things like this.

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