14
Entertainm ent
March
"Portlandia" thrives with variety,
rebounds from lack of consistency
"Portlandia" is like a box of
chocolates; you never know
what sketch you are going to
view. When you are forced to
turn away from the television
screen or cringe at a scene
from a comedy or sitcom,
it usually means
they do their job
correctly.
In the
case of
"Portlandia,"
this year's
new comedy on
IFC, they evoke
the reactions
at another level
through irregular
and unexpected
shifts in humor. The
question I still have
is if that is for better
or worse. The show is a
farcical comedy about the
city of Portland starring
Fred Armisen of "Saturday
Night Live" and northwest
native Carrie Brownstein
known as a musician in the
Portland band Sleater-Kinney
which disbanded in 2006.
Some of the shows are
dead-on in their reflection
of Portland, from questions
regarding organic chicken
to the importance of
individuality and creativity,
Portlandia covers it all,
but sometimes the scenes
feel as if they are speaking
to completely different
audiences.
From scene to scene, the
audience has no clue what
kind of content they are about
to observe, ranging from
friendly comedy appealing
to all audiences such as a
hide and seek sketch in the
Portland Community College
Library to scenes that are
inappropriate in their own
right, such as one scene that
involved gender reversal.
The rhythm of the show is
another thing entirely. If you
have any preconceptions of
"Portlandia" as being similar -
to "Saturday Night Live," be
prepared to throw them
out the window. The
setup is similar in its
isolated scenes, but in
attempt to include
scene progression
in some sketches
and not in
others, I felt
that I was
being told
which
scenes
they put
time into and
which ones they
simply hurl in to fill
the time slot.
The first episode proved
to be awkward in the way
it let the major scene take
control over the others. The
predominant scene, broken
up in the first episode,
involves a couple that orders
chicken at a restaurant and
a visit to a farm where the
chicken is raised. This series
of interrelated sketches struck
hilarity, but the separation
between them slightly
diminished the sketch's
comedic value.
I've found myself
questioning the show's
intentions. What kind of
audience does this show
such
want?
With
a v a r ia tio n o
content
how
and humor, th
requires
the
viewer
to step
just
mm
outside his or her comfort
level and perhaps that
is the message. Just as
Portland requires us to
be more accepting of the
idiosyncrasies in the lifestyles
of one another, perhaps the
show is trying to unite an
alternative viewer with the
more traditional Saturday
Night Live comedy junky.
Although the successful
scenes are fantastic in their
creative and authentic merits,
the ineffective ones test my
patience and deter me from
staying through the show.
When the bad chocolates
outweigh the good, it is
time to consider the produce
section.
After viewing the last
episode of "Portlandia,"
I found the high-quality
chocolate. The scenes felt
smoothly connected and
cohesive which sparked
my interest and kept me
involved for the full episode.
This left me to question my
skepticism. Just as I was
about to put down the box
of sketches, I felt my sweet
tooth emerge once more.
Maybe "Portlandia" deserves
a second chance. With only
six episodes in total, it is hard
to say if the show can make
the comeback and highlight
the talent of Armisen and
properly introduce the talent
of Brownstein, but at least the
show demonstrates sporadic
brilliance.
■ -.
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Portland, known for its
eco-friendly lifestyle and
alternative based bands,
now has its ow n show.
" P o r t la n d ia ," s ta r r in g
Fred Armisen ("Saturday
N ight Live") and C arrie
Brownstein (Portland-b?
band Sleater-Kinney),
shows off Portland j# :
in ccxmedk fashion
And it’s actually
funny, especially
if y o u 'r e an
Oregonian.
A few of
th e s k i t s
include:
a h ip ste r
(a hipster
is so m e w h o
is in the know before
everybody else, and sees
popularity trends before
popular people do) who
only wants hipsters to like
hipster things, a women's
only bookstore, and a hide-
and-seek club that takes the
game a little too seriously.
All these skits are supposed
to interpret Portland and
how its people act. And
I th in k it ch a ra cte riz e s
P o r t l a n d v e r y we l l .
One of my favorite skits
is w hen two vegans are
out to lunch and they want
to have chicken, but they
are asking odd questions
to the w aiter about the
chicken. At one point they
ask, "How big is the area
w here the ch ick en s can
free roam?" I love this skit
because it’s so interesting
to see what other people
V
4 mmmi
,
V 'I
Gi
is ad
Which honestly, isn’t too far
from some of these skits.
T h is s h o w is e v e n
featuring some pretty big
actors too. Steve Buscemi
("B o a rd w a lk E m p ire ”),
Aubrey Plaza ("Parks and
R e c r e a t io n " ) an d
Ja so n S u d eik is
^Saturday
N ight L iv e")
all have guest-
s t a r r e d in
"P ortlan d ia."
Having
it
r e c e iv e so m e
fav o rab le
reviews from the
New York Times
and the Los Angeles
Times isn't to so bad
either.
I'm glad all these stars
are coming here. Not only
does it add to the already
great comedy, but it also
shows that productions can
film here. It's not very often
someone in Portland says,
"Oh, they filmed that here."
N ot
only
does
"Portlandia" make fun of
Oregonians, but it does it in
a way that some Oregonians
are going to find funny. It's
common to see a skit and
say, "O h I hate it w hen
people do that." Obviously,
it's pretty extreme, but the
kernel of truth is there. My
old teacher always used to
say, "There’s always a grain
of truth with sarcasm."
"Portlandia" shows on
Fridays at 10:30 p.m. on IFC.
Check the Amplifier blog
(w w w .blogs.w lh s.w lw v .
k l2 .o r .u s / am p lifier)
for Carrie Brownstein's
Portland theme song.
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DwighT ¿nd Meredith
TOO MUCH LOVE. NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE
Dear Dwight & Meredith,
I have two friends who
aren't friends with each
other. They have both gone
out with the same guy.
One went out with him last
year and the other is going
out with him now. A few
weeks ago, the friend who
went out with him last year
wanted him back and made
him choose between her
and his current girlfriend.
He chose my friend who he
was still dating. I'm happy
for one friend and sad for
the other. What should I do?
Caught in the Middle
Dear Caught in the Middle,
Your main goal here is to
not take sides and support
both friends. You do not
have to do anything if you
don't want to. This is a hard
situation that you have been
put into, but if your friends
are making you take sides,
they may not be very good
friends at all. If they are not,
stay neutral and try to be
the best friend to all parties
that you can be.
Dwight & Meredith
Dear Dwight & Meredith,
I am currently dating my
dream girl. She is perfect
in every way. There is only
one problem; my friend
is also in love with her. I
don't blame him because
I know how great she is—
seriously, she is the best.
The way the light shines off
her hair gives me shivers.
Her scent makes me tingle
all over. My friend is also
an attractive guy, and I
am worried she will lose
interest in me. What should
I do to make sure I can keep
her heart?
Not a Big Fan of Triangles
Dear Not a Big Fan of
Triangles,
Your girlfriend sounds
great. It sounds like you
definitely have strong
feelings for her, which
is a great foundation for
a relationship. The best
way to keep a relationship
strong is honesty, so make
sure you have a talk about
your jealousy and anxiety.
Emphasize how much you
care about her and make the
best of the relationship you
have. Regardless of what
happens in the future, make
sure to enjoy the present.
Sincerely,
Dwight and Meredith