United States of Tara and the Deceitful Netflix Envelope

I just received the second disc of Showtime's United States of Tara in the mail (I know, I know. Shut up. Better late than never) and noticed an odd bit of ad copy.

"Steven Spielberg created this wry cable series that follows Tara (Toni Collette)..."

Er... I know Ol' Spielberg is a beloved household name and all but bad form, Netflix copy editor types, bad form! While Spielberg's name is attached (Executive Producer), Tara is the brainchild of Oscar-winning Diablo Cody (Juno) and one ought to give credit where it's due.

P.S. I like the series so far with "Alice" being my favorite of Tara's alters -- is this because it reminds me of her slam dunk cameo in The Hours (2002)? -- and her son Marshall's "Hell House" experience being my favorite subplot. I'm enjoying the way Toni plays her multiples in a performative rather than strictly naturalistic way. This adds a nice layer to the larger thematic questions of identity building / role playing that the show appears to be building towards. I could be wrong, though. Just halfway through.

P.P.S. I find it unfortunate that after the one-two punch of Rachel Getting Married and this series that Rosemarie DeWitt may be forever typecast as The Female Protagonist's Resentful Sister Who Craves the Familial Attention That the Protagonist Wins via the Sheer Enormity of Her Mental Problems. I mean... that is a microscopic niche. That's even more problematic than Jodie Foster's narrow 'Female Protagonist Trapped In Confined Spaces' phase from a decade back. Good luck finding your next role, Rosemarie!

P.P.P.S. Now that I've seen 8 or so episodes, I'm dying to discuss it. Travel back in time a couple of years and discuss with me. Do you love it?

Rosemarie DeWitt (Supporting Actress Blog-a-Thon)

I was goofing earlier when I put forth EVE as an Oscar contender for "acting" although the love and sentiments expressed (beyond the double joke regarding categorization) were completely sincere... yet I was appalled to notice that nobody in Stinky's big blog-a-thon had touched on either Rachel Getting Married co-star Rosemarie DeWitt or Debra Winger. To briefly correct that, a few words about DeWitt's performance.

From a cold hearted punditry standpoint it's intriguing and not entirely surprising that Dewitt's fate in the Awards race seems to be mirroring her character Rachel's fate in the movie (awards often chase "roles" in a more obvious way than they follow "performances" if you know what I'm saying). Which is to say that though Rachel is the title character and the entire plot theoretically revolves around her moment... her thunder is repeatedly stolen. Her groom stays focused on her but literally everyone else in the movie --including, most tellingly, Rachel herself --shoves her to the side whenever her narcissist sister Kym (Anne Hathaway) needs the slightest bit of attention or care. This need, as you can imagine, appears frequently. This abandoning is there in the filmmaking, too, which gives Rachel/DeWitt a wonderful thank you gift of a final scene but otherwise leaves her whenever Kym needs story time. This, as you can imagine, also happens frequently.

From a acting fan's standpoint this mirrored fate for DeWitt (who has missed out on valuable precursor awards support) is not intriguing at all but upsetting. Anne Hathaway's performance is a brilliantly cut thing, all self-serving charisma (it had to be a movie star in the role) and moments of lucid realization of her own toxicity. Hathaway deserves the Oscar nomination, no question, but what of the valiant support and noteworthy acting choices from the actors playing her family members? The movie, blessed by strong screenplay and direction, would work without ace performances orbiting the star but thankfully it doesn't have to. DeWitt has a tricky task in the movie. Like Hathaway, she has to sell a complex character, but unlike Hathaway who is free to stay all tied up in Kym's head, DeWitt has to illuminate the spaces outside of Rachel, too. Kym's sickness is partially that she can't inhabit these spaces but in Rachel we have to see a distinct personality (DeWitt doesn't sugar coat Rachel's own disagreeable traits, which adds beautiful ambiguity to the conflicts) and the painful/loving/continually renegotiated space between them. Kym has to be Kym. Rachel has to be Rachel and Rachel with Kym.

The star is the star is the star. But this supporting actress sure helps her shine.


For more on Rosemarie DeWitt, check out the Film Experience interview.
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Today's Oscar Puzzle: Supporting Actress 2008

Your assignment: Look over my Supporting Actress prediction page. Return and answer me these questions 6 before the precursors really begin?

• Penélope Cruz. Does the Academy really want her to be "Oscar Winner Penélope Cruz" from now on or is that "Javier Bardem presents" fantasy merely a fanboy wet dream?
• Groupthink says Cruz/Henson/Winslet/DeWitt/Davis give or take Tomei. Very warm... or "ha ha people think they have it figured out before the precursors hit every year. How annually gullible they are!"
• Stealth Attack. Anyone under the radar that shouldn't be?
  
• Whither Critics Awards? Doesn't it seem like the kind of year where they might be all over the place (at least here) and who does that benefit exactly?
• Georgia all over again? Do you think there's a chance that Rosemarie DeWitt pulls a Mare Winningham '95 move (getting nom'ed instead of JenniferJasonLeigh in her Oscar vehicle) on Our Miss Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married
• Just for fun! Re: Amy Adams in Doubt... she's cute and all but which actresses do you think really ought to play nuns next?
  

Go...

New Podcast: Rachel Getting Married Pt. 1

Part 1 of 2: Rachel Getting Married Special

When I interviewed screenwriter Jenny Lumet she claimed ignorance, blissful ignorance, when it came to the movie industry. While it's true that she grew up in a famous household (she calls legendary Lena Horne grandmother and one of Hollywood's most lauded filmmakers, Sidney Lumet, father) she didn't know the fine details of getting script to screen. She apparently didn't stop to question her instincts, didn't stop to worry that screenwriters aren't technically supposed to announce their choice of Oscar winning directors... and get him. Her directorial suggestion of Jonathan Demme (Married to the Mob, Silence of the Lambs, Something Wild), underlines what one can already hear in Rachel Getting Married's illuminating screenplay: this is a sharp perceptive woman.


Last week I also spoke with "Rachel" herself Rosemarie DeWitt, currently an Oscar hopeful for Best Supporting Actress, on her ascending career. We dish on Mad Men (she jokes that it's hard to make out with Jon Hamm week after week, poor thing), investigate why Cinderella Man was important to her, praise Anne Hathaway, and I geek out about Searching For Debra Winger (which I am prone to do -- I really should write about that documentary) when we come around to DeWitt sharing the screen with the elusive 80s icon.


You can read more about these interviews here

Those with iTunes can get the enhanced podcast here.
If you're without,there's a standard mp3 for your listening pleasure.

Oscar prediction updates are in progress -more later