Will 'United States Of Tara' Confirm Diablo Cody's Genius?
Diablo Cody—Patron Saint of Former Strippers Who Did It Just for the Experience but Ultimately Aspired to Something More—is the writer of The United States of Tara, a new Showtime series previewed in the promotional package above. Starring Toni Colette and based on an idea by Steven Spielberg, much is riding on Tara and its tale of an American mom who just happens to suffer from dissociative identity disorder. Diablo defends her lighthearted treatment of the illness as such:
"Comedy should only be written about sensitive subjects."
"That's my philosophy. To say that we shouldn't have comedies about sensitive subjects is to denigrate comedy. Which to me is a very high art form."
It remains to be seen if this series will fulfill the promise of Juno and establish Cody as the great screenwriting voice of her generation, or if a surface treatment of a serious subject and penchant for dialogue like, "Craptards, mom! Dov Berkleman is coming over tonight to Schoolhouse my Rock, and I need to know if you're the 18-year-old slut or the 58-year-old clarinetist. For seriousballs!" will ultimately leave Tara viewers and Diablo fans alike severely disappointed.