The Mercury, which we love very much and would maybe try to mate with if we were also a newspaper, wrote a little review of Portlandia this week. And they nailed exactly what Your Editor hasn’t been able to put his finger on about the show: It’s a total bitchfest!
From the Merc:
“Let’s put it this way: If you’re a person who feels disenfranchised from Portland’s creative class—like the commenters on Oregon Live who despise everything that deviates from the social norm in Troutdale—you’ll laugh your ass off. (Side note: The Republican uncle of a Mercury staffer LOVED IT.) Conversely, if you’re one of the people or classes being lampooned by the show, you’ll probably, definitely hate it. And if you fall somewhere in-between these two groups—which most of us do—you’re in the “sorta” class: You’ll be sorta amused, while sorta wondering how Team Brownstein intends on extending this joke for its entire six-episode run.”
Toates. And yes, Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen might be using the show to set fire to the hipsters who made them famous by buying their records and laughing at their jokes. But isn’t that how it always goes when trying to make what they hope to be a mainstream product? Shame it might not catch on like we suspect they hope. As the Merc points out (and we predicted way back when), the show is a running joke intended for the rest of normal America, but one that few will actually get or give a shit about.
So there you go. Still, it’s funny in places. And it’s about as Portland as a show can get. We’ll keep watching, and simultaneously cringing and laughing.