Gays of our Lives (March 17, 2009)

SPOTLIGHT ON … UNITED STATES OF TARA

This week we shine our spotlight on the Showtime series, United States of Tara, starring Toni Collette, John Corbett, and Keir Gilchrist. USoT revolves around the life of Tara Gregson (Collette), a woman suffering with multiple personality disorder. Along with her husband, Tara has a gay son, 14-year-old Marshall (Gilchrist), who is out to his family and who in turn are very accepting. While a majority of Marshall’s storyline has been about his chaotic home life, the show has given some attention to Marshall’s crush on Jason, a fellow student, played by Andrew Lawrence.

Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) and Jason (Andrew Lawrence)

Marshall, who is not widely out at school, has had his eye on Jason for quite some time and as shown in this first clip, is looking for a way to be close to his heart’s desire. He finds it, but things don’t quite turn out like he expected. (Please be aware that there is a small amount of NSFW language in the following clips!)

The story between Jason and Marshall works not only because of writing that takes a gentle approach, but because of the easy, natural chemistry between the two boys, bringing an unexpected sweetness to their scenes, even as Jason seems utterly clueless to Marshall’s obvious crush on him.

It’s also to the show’s credit that Marshall’s feelings for Jason are presented without judgment. He’s depicted just like any other young boy falling in love for the first time. I also liked that the show didn’t demonize or make fun of the religious angle that is a backdrop to the story, which would have been a cheap and easy tactic. And as the story continued, the writers avoided the usual well-worn story paths.

Although the scene in which Marshall attempts to confess his feelings for Jason is wonderfully sweet, it does reveal a flaw in the story: Marshall’s naiveté concerning the ramifications of coming out to his friend.

He seems unbelievably unaware of how it could backfire on him, resulting in something far beyond a broken heart. I’m not sure if the writers intended this as part of the character’s depiction or if they’re ignoring the realities of life in order to tell the story. That is still unclear and maybe we’ll find out down the road.

Nevertheless, they do deserve kudos for a well-told tale. And I was also glad to see them flesh Jason out a bit. Up until these final scenes, he’d been little more than another clueless hunk. But the show nicely turned him into a real person with his own problems and feelings.

While the scene between them in Marshall’s bedroom was an unexpected and very pleasant surprise, the question left hanging was: did something more happen between Jason and Marshall? At first I thought the show would leave it up in the air, but that nicely written final scene between Marshall and his father, indicated to me that not only had things progressed between the boys, but had solidified Marshall’s feelings for Jason. I don’t know what I enjoyed more… the sweet smile on Marshall’s face or the fact that his father was happy (not shocked, nor upset) that his son had finally experienced love for the first time.