With this year being the 20th anniversary of the iconic Austin movie “Slacker”, it’s only fitting that the Independent Film Channel (IFC) has come out with its own tribute to the slacker capital of the northwest, Portland. In their new show Portlandia, comic actors Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein write and star in a collection of shorts spoofing all the archetypes of modern bohemian and progressive culture.

Being Portland, bicycles play heavily in the humor including this clip called “Bicycle Rights!”

It’s funny because it’s true. While not solely bike focused, the series is reminiscent of the very funny web series “The Bicyclist” (not to be confused with it’s very unfunny and sappy feature film version “The Bicyclists”.) As they say in this music video promoting the new show, “Portland is a city where young people go to retire.” Sound familiar?

Portlandia
Written by and starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein
Friday Nights at 9:30 CST on IFC
Clips from the show on the Portlandia site. My fav is “Hide and Seek” while my librarian wife loves the “Did You Read?”