Air Date: Monday, June 20, 2011 10:30PM E/P
Rating
Can you hear the tiny violins being played in a slow haunting melody signifying the end of something great? “The Good Parts” serves a dual purpose as the season and series finale since Showtime has opted against renewing United States of Tara for a fourth season. (Wipes the tears from my eyes.)
Toni Collette as Tara
Last week’s episode, “Crunchy Ice,” left us with a killer cliffhanger when Tara (Toni Collette) jumped from a bridge into the river below. As we watch the autumn leaves swim in murky brown water, the familiar tune of “The Logical Song” by Supertramp is being hummed by a restrained Bryce in a makeshift torture device. Tara is symbolically drowning this most corrosive of her alters. He doesn’t leave quietly and has a few choice words before departing.
Bryce: “You have no idea how much crazy is bouncing around in that lope-sided skull of yours.”
Tara: “I deserve to be left alone! To be set free! Free to read a book or join a club or mop the f*cking floor!”
Bryce: “Kill me already, will ya? All you do is complain. Whatever happened to that sweet little girl with the p***y that taste just like candy?”
(Shudders) Applause, hats off, and whatever else I can give to Collette for her impeccable performance as this most disgusting and vile character. For Collette to transcend so eloquently into such a creep, then back to the lovable, sweet Tara is incomparable. By the way, I love Tara’s new hair cut! That’s the only decent thing Bryce has given her.
L-R: Brie Larson as Kate and Keir Gilchrist as Marshall
With “The Good Parts” being the unknown series finale, it is a bittersweet moment for me. Over the last three seasons, we’ve watched Kate (Brie Larson) and Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) grow and mature, and Max (John Corbett) continuously standing by his wife while seemingly hanging by a thread. Obviously Max and Tara returning home instead of going to the mental facility is a bit of a shock, but they squelch any notion that Tara isn’t going to get help when they announce they are headed to Boston and that Bryce is…dead.
The family is understandably leery but it’s completely comical with a touch of mayhem when Marshall asks if this is what Max wants. We get a sample of Max’s inner monologue before his calmer and more politically correct answer emerges. “F*ck no! What I want is to get the hell out of here! I’m done with it all! F*ck the whole Goddamn thing!” This will not be the last of Max’s outbursts. Oh no. You are in for a treat when dinner is served.
L-R: Charmaine (Rosemarie DeWitt), Neil (Patton Oswalt), Evan (Keir O'Donnell), Kate (Brie Larson) and Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) say goodbye to Tara and Max
Tara thinks it’s a good idea to have one last family supper before she is carted off to the Boston (Beantown) loony bin – an idea that rubs Marshall the wrong way. His biting sarcasm draws blood, but in a good way. I mean, I think we all know Tara is smart enough to realize a family meal isn’t going to mend the fences that have been ripped down. You want to empathize so badly with Tara but on the same token you have to sympathize with what Marshall is going through. He’s just lost someone very close to him; there are too many things left unsaid.
Kate invites her boyfriend Evan (Keir O’Donnell) over for dinner at her mother’s bequest but he has a little surprise of his own after being bombarded with the Craine sisters inquisition regarding his failed marriage. Is Kate really ready to leave the nest? As much as I want her to be, I know she’s not quite there yet. And even though it’s not technically her responsibility, she decides to take the reins to look after Marshall while their parents are gone instead of letting him move to Houston with the newly engaged Neil (Patton Oswalt) and Charmaine (Rosemarie DeWitt)—she proposed.
Max (John Corbett) rocks out on his guitar
After Max unleashes his frustrations on the turducken feast, he releases some steam by rocking out with his amp and guitar as their neighbor and friend Ted (Michael Hitchcock) enjoys alongside him. Ted’s hysterical tirade when another neighbor comes out complaining about the noise had me doubled over in laughter. You gotta love him for being so supportive.
As Max and Tara get ready to leave for Boston, the family gathers to say their goodbyes. Despite the hurt Marshall’s experienced, I’m so glad he says something kind to his mother: “When you get to Boston, don’t let them pull out all the good parts.” Tara cries, “You guys are my good parts.”
Tara says her goodbyes to her family
I think “The Good Parts” suited well since it’s actually the series finale but if this had been just a season finale, I was kind of hoping for more of a climatic and shocking end. Perhaps if the series would have continued, Bryce wouldn’t drown and begin to evolve into something more sinister while the ending in “Crunchy Ice” would have been the optimal cliffhanger. However, with the series now at an end, Tara and Max driving off together, with the not-so-dead, albeit battered and bruised original three alters – T, Alice and Buck – into the sunset seems befitting.
Farewell to the Gregsons and the alters. You will be deeply missed.
Photos © Showtime, All Rights Reserved.
BONUS: Stay tuned for video clips from LA Film Festival Coffee Talk Panel with Screenwriters – including United States of Tara creator Diablo Cody. She answers a few of my questions about how much Toni Collette was involved in creating Bryce’s character including his wardrobe and demeanor.
Me (Judy) and the awesome Diablo Cody at LA Film Festival Coffee Talk/Screenwriters Sun 6/19/11. She was super cool to chat with!
Judy Manning
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