Customer Reviews

Portlandia Blu-ray/DVD

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm going to be cautious in my rating for IFC's "Portlandia" due to the divisive nature of the show's reception. I know a lot of people who sampled the show during its six episode Season One run, and the consensus seemed to be split right down the middle. Some called the show hilarious, while some found it a belabored missed opportunity. Almost nobody was left standing in the middle. Obviously, if you already love or hate the show, nothing in any review is going to change your mind. My commentary is mainly focused on new viewers who might be thinking about trying the program out. I might suggest you try to catch an episode on IFC (they rerun frequently) or even on Amazon Instant Video if you don't have that network on your cable provider. I can understand why some would really connect with the show's ideology but I can also see why some would be less enthused by its meandering presentation. For myself, I did love the premise of the show but oftentimes thought sketches needed to be tightened up.

The Good: "Portlandia," first and foremost, starts with a fantastic idea. Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein have created a comedy that speaks to a very specific portion of the population. In a perfect recreation of indie hipster angst, the show skewers a world in which people are consumed by political correctness. The beauty of "Portlandia" is that it both embraces the self-importance, superiority, and silliness of this extreme sect while poking gentle fun with it. It really is spot-on in showcasing this dichotomy and Portland stands as an ideal muse for illustrating this too cool for school mentality. The self-aware characters (Armisen and Browstein play a stable of recurring bits) are so proper, in fact, they are often undone by trying to be idealized models of this elevated consciousness. It's an inspired idea, and when it works--it hits very real highs. People relate to the show because they are or know people exactly like the ones represented.

The Not-So-Good: Maybe the people that don't connect as much are lacking the relationships necessary to put the show's environment in context. If, for example, you live in Portland or a place like it--it would be hard not to be amused by the premise of the show. However, premise aside, the show sometimes lacks a comedic timing to make even its funniest bits work to perfection. Skits tend to meander a bit, sometimes with a seeming lack of focus. I realize that this is also kind of the point of the premise, but I felt so many sequences went on just a beat too long. If you're looking for big joke based laughs, this is more character driven or situational comedy. Very few moments end in big punchlines. The big laughs, in fact, are infrequent--most of the time, I was gently amused.

Armisen and Browstein create some colorful characters (some more successful than others), but the absolute highlight of the season is to catch the unexpected guest stars. Kyle MacLachlin is fantastic as the mayor, Aimee Mann playing herself as a maid is a hoot. Likable Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) pops up, but is underutilized. Steve Buscemi has perhaps the season's most mystifying cameo. And there are a few more surprises, and it's fun to see how many people were willing to drop by for a scene or two. Overall, "Portlandia" is a definite (but cautious) recommendation for the right audience. Again, I think its ability to both embrace and satirize the ridiculous is its strongest asset. I just wish some of the skits had been accompanied by bigger laughs. Season One is six episodes running shy of thirty minutes each. Catch up now, as Season Two starts on IFC in January 2012. KGHarris, 10/11.

My wife and I stumbled on this show a few nights ago on NetFlix.
OMG! We could not stop laughing at how funny and unique the show is laid out.
The acting, humor and creativity flows so good together.
We are now ordering the DVD because we fell in love with this show.
I hope the producers, writers etc continue these series, they're great!

This is a fun, quirky sketch comedy show. If you liked Flight of the Conchords, I think you'll enjoy this. Fred and Carrie make a great pair. This is full of bizzare, random references and jokes. Highly recommend.

First off if you enjoyed Flight of the Concords and/or Little Britain then you will probably like this show as it is a mix between the two.

As a sketch comedy this show is well done and amusing to watch so it is a success in that regard. However as someone who was I was born and raised in Portland, OR I would say this show fails as a look at what makes Portland special or unique. Yes there are the types of people you see in this show in Portland in larger amounts then you would see elsewhere, but that isn't what makes the city unique (thou it may seem that way to outsiders).

Bottom line if you want a decent off the wall sketch comedy then check this out, but don't expect a accurate look at what makes Portland, OR different then other cities.

I purchased this as a christmas present for my wife after we watched a couple of episodes. Definitely worth the money, very funny... might not be for everyone's sense of humor, but certainly worth checking out. good, dry former grunge-era adults

Portlandia is a brilliantly off-kilter show, the kind of biting comedy that cuts to the core of a segment of society. If you like the kind of cultural lampooning of Louie, you should get on board with this.

The Blu Ray/DVD packaging, though, is atrocious. My order came with a sticker that read "Disc made in Mexico" on the back, which, if removed, tears at the cardboard jacket. Beneath the slip is a cardboard case, rather than a plastic case, which feels cheap and fragile, and the discs slide into cardboard pockets, which can't be good for the media. If greener packaging means cheap-looking design, I might have to tell Mother Nature to go screw. If you're not slightly obsessive about nice-looking cases on your shelf, then these complaint likely won't bother you, but I genuinely hope that companies stray away these kinds of designs.

I haven't been to Portland yet, but I did hang out in Seattle and Vancouver in Summer 2010. I can say it was interesting. The people were nice, but def. in their uber hipster cloud. The northwest is a weird cool place and I wouldn't live there, but everyone should visit. This series with Carrie and Fred is funny not crazy laugh out loud Chappelle show funny, but cute Kids in the Hall type of funny. Just like the Kids showcased the lovely city of Toronto, Carrie and Fred are taking it further by making Portland the main character. I watched all the episodes last night and it was pretty good...the only weird thing was that it reminded me of this indie rock poser guy I knew in college who eventually moved to Portland! He probably doesn't even get the irony.

Wow, I love this show, not because it pokes fun at the ridiculous, pretentious, ubber trendy, health conscious, vegan friendly, bicycle riding (kid), but because it's so real. These people really do exist, we've met them at shows, or in a whole foods store, maybe even in a pizza joint. But, the thing we never really understand about these people is their "sense of entitlement!" Why? Okay, you ride a bicycle, you work less than 30 hours a week, you eat a vegetarian or vegan diet, maybe some fair trade coffee is in the mix, but why does this make you so important, let alone cool? We aren't supposed to understand their vain existence, why would you even want to? So, just relax, watch from a safe distance and laugh. "Vegans for abortion, save the chickens abort the fetuses,!" It makes sense, right? Every cause these cool kids support is important, and why is this, because their bicycle riding, vegan, hipsters, who have been fortunate (or misfortunate) enough to discover this lifestyle (or whatever we may call it). If you are this person, enjoy, for the rest of the world is now privy to your utter ridiculous, self absorbed, narcissistic, "white" garbage, hold on, I just got a tweet, Aimme's Organic Kitchen is having a fundraiser to raise awareness of fair trade coffee, and Dinosaur Rhinoceros Tank is opening up for Atlanta's No Brakes!, gotta run, maybe I can grab a garlic tofu wrap on the bike ride over!

Okay, obviously some people aren't familiar with North Brooklyn's humor. And that's the problem with the show, when people can just review it and share their opinions of it, Williamsburg is simply over. I know you're considering getting the dvd, but before you do--there's no need, it's over--so I wish we could still like the show, but we can't because now it's for anyone who can watch it. I saw this guy talking about how the show's over the other day--and he wasn't even me--he was just some other person who also knows the show's over. And,the show was meant to be genuinely viewed in tandem with IFC's commercials, so it's not even like watching the original thing anyway.

I could give Portlandia 5 stars, but I think I'm hep enough to know when an over show about pseudo, hipster Brooklynites like this is so overtly over. Maybe if they call in some heavy hitters like Jeff Skowron or Matt Yeager...maybe even Bob McClure, maybe.