'United States of Tara' review

(Credit: Nigel Parry/Showtime)

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There are now three times as many TVs as there are people in the United States.

The bad news: should TVs ever gain cognizance and rise against us (and they will), the human race will be at an immediate disadvantage. The good news: Tara (Toni Collette), the heroine of "United States of Tara," Showtime's new comedy about dissociative identity disorder, can justify buying a TV for each of her three distinctive personalities.

While juggling the rigors of a family life (including an in-the-closet son and "Juno"-clone daughter) and a successful mural-painting career, Tara cycles through her alter egos. There's Alice, a prim and proper housewife with just a hint of "Stepford Wives" creepiness; Buck, a beer-guzzlin', skirt-chasin' redneck (and Tara's only male personality); and T, a wild, substance-abusing teenager who apparently took Sisqo at his word when he sang, "Let me see that thong/That thong, th-thong, thong, thong." Man, I miss the '90s.

The buzz: Penned by Hollywood flavor-of-the-week Diablo Cody, and exec-produced by a young upstart named Steven Spielberg, "Tara" is high on both the buzz-o-meter and the buzz-o-scope (two very different buzz-measuring devices). Plus, the series boasts four times more Toni Collette than any other TV series out there, so that's... something.

The verdict: For the 95% of moviegoers who enjoyed "Juno," the sardonic wit and snappy dialogue of "United States of Tara" should prove tolerable, if safe, entertainment. For the rest of us, well, there's always "Army Wives" reruns on Lifetime.

Did you know? Toni Collette has a real life alter ego—she's a singer/songwriter who performs as "Toni Collette and the Finish."

"United States of Tara" premieres Sunday, Jan. 18, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime.

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