carrie-brownstein

In Portlandia, Brunch Is Never That Simple

Matt Toder · 03/10/12 12:19AM

Tonight's season finale of Portlandia was a rather different beast than previous episodes: instead of a series of sketches with one recurring story, "Brunch Village" was one story that brought a few characters together. While it wasn't as strong as some previous episodes, the journey that Peter took from indecisive wimp to conquering hero was well rendered, with the added layer of him claiming a decisive victory over indecision. Plus, lampooning brunch is right in the show's wheelhouse.

In Portlandia, Never Leave Your Bike with the Valet

Matt Toder · 03/02/12 10:46PM

The best sketch from an otherwise subpar episode of Portlandia featured Fred and Carrie doing another experiment with off-beat entrepreneurialism. In the past, we've seen them try to be movers who only biked across town or environmentalists who start their own recycling firm. This week, they were bike valets, in a sketch that highlights the contradiction between Portland's earthy bike culture and the service-y realm of valet parking. The business didn't work, but the sketch sure did.

In Portlandia, Recycling is Very Important and Very Specific

Matt Toder · 02/24/12 11:22PM

Some of the best Portlandia sketches are pseudo-commercial types where characters attempt to sell not just a product but a way of live to us. In this sketch, twins Marcus and Madeleine attempt to sell us recycling, their particular brand of recycling, and it comes off great. The constant asides, the subtle music cues, and the hilarious prop at the end make for a great sketch.

In Portlandia, Facebook Can Literally Save Your Life (Almost)

Matt Toder · 02/18/12 12:13AM

Tonight's episode of Portlandia was especially strong, crafting great sketches from the subjects right in its wheelhouse: the inability to remain cool as we age and the infantilization of male hipsters. This sketch brought them both together superbly, as Fred and Carrie swapped genders to bring back Nina and Lance. It's a great bit of commentary about our reliance on technology and the power struggle inherent to any relationship. Also, that completely superfluous fart sound effect is perfect.

Kristin Wiig Stops By Portlandia To Take Fred and Carrie Hostage

Matt Toder · 02/11/12 01:38AM

Sometimes Portlandia delivers biting social satire of about how lame it is to be cool and sometimes it serves up something a little more absurd. On tonight's episode, Fred and Carrie discover that the key to music stardom is including a cat in their band, which leads to them being taken hostage by guest star Kristin Wiig.

Portlandia Takes Us Back to the Whisker Wars of the 1890's

Matt Toder · 02/04/12 12:30AM

The first sketch of IFC's Portlandia was about how Portland, Oregon is stuck in the 1990's. Now that the series is right in the middle of its second season, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein are revising that thesis: Portland is actually stuck in the 1890's, what with the microbrews, the beards, and the general aesthetic of lumberjack chic. Portlandia does a great job of critiquing the posturing that is meant to pass as cool and this sketch really nails it. It also includes one of the series' great lines when Carrie realizes what's happening in Portland and declares, "it's like if President McKinley was never assassinated."

Portlandia's First Season Finishes Strong

Whitney Jefferson · 02/28/11 03:00PM


Portlandia concluded its freshman season this weekend with a little help from some famous friends Heather Graham, Kyle MacLachlan, Nick Kroll. We met a few new characters and watched Fred and Carrie start a national baseball team: The Portland Thinkers.

Portlandia: Put a Bird on It

Whitney Jefferson · 01/31/11 01:59PM

Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein took on the ridiculously cliché trend of putting a bird on prints, housewares, clothes—really anything a hipster could ever want. But what happens when an actual bird enters a shop like that?

Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein are a Delight on Late Night

Whitney Jefferson · 01/21/11 01:20PM

Portlandia begins tonight on IFC! Naturally, Fred and Carrie took to Jimmy Fallon's show for a game which involved drawing random songs to perform with instruments they had never played before. Let's see how it all worked out.

Who's Excited for IFC's Portlandia?

Whitney Jefferson · 12/16/10 01:15PM

Saturday Night Live's Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein's Portlandia arrives on IFC in January. The sketch show—which was written and stars Armisen and Brownstien—looks to be a wacky, offbeat comedy about the Pacific Northwest.

Emily Gould · 10/19/07 01:00PM

Have you been wondering what Carrie Brownstein is up to now that Sleater Kinney has disbanded? We had forgotten to! Anyway, it turns out that she randomly but wonderfully has a sketch comedy website with Fred Armisen now. The one about a feminist bookstore deciding what can and cannot go on the bulletin board is particularly amazing. "My problem with this one is, when I see this drumhead, I see a woman's face. A woman's face on Super Bowl Sunday."