Here's my entire review of the first season of this true crime parody from Netflix:
It's a Netflix true crime parody about a case of high school vandalism. Someone has spray-painted a bunch of dicks on the cars in the faculty parking lot. But who? Starts out feeling like this dumb, trivial show, and frankly, that's what it ends up being. Still, I enjoyed it - and it ends with a big old gut punch that I shouldn't spoil. Eight episodes, half an hour each (or so). Give it a try, maybe.
Not very glowing, not very insightful, just a little ho-hum write-up about an enjoyable but forgettable season of television. I wrote that in October of last year, and then by December when all the "best of 2017" lists started coming out, imagine my surprise when I found just so much love out there for American Vandal. People were raving about how it Trojan-Horsed in all kinds of depth about high school sadsacks and how it was the first show about teenagers to explore what social media does to outcasts. Sure, fine - I can see that. but also, this was just an eight-episode show about spray-painting dicks onto cars! It's a thing that's making fun of - and in some ways, making light of - the real cases presented in Making a Murderer and Serial and the like.
Anyway, the creators of American Vandal clearly heard all your praise for their depiction of high school losers, because they're doubling down here in Season 2. Things were a little less funny and a little more nakedly moralistic the second time around, despite a bunch of poop-based pranks, and without spoiling anything major, I'll just say that catfishing and cybersecurity play a huge role in the story.
It was fine. Not sure if I liked it better or worse than the first season - probably just a little bit better? - but then, the idea that I haven't given it any real thought speaks pretty loudly about how I feel about American Vandal in general.
Here's a thought. How many high schools around the country have been subject to recurring, large-scale, shit-based pranks? And now, how many have been subject to school shootings? And, moreover, to sexual assault cases? I mean, I'm not suggesting that American Vandal should go ahead and do a school shooting or a rape season - both of those concepts would actually fly in the face of the low-stakes "whodunnit" nature of the show. But I guess I'm saying, hey, there's real shit that high schoolers are dealing with that could potentially be mined or referenced in some way, no? I mean, even just making one of the talking head interviewees to say something like, "I always figured he might shoot up the school someday, but making everyone shit their pants? Horrific."
Just some food for thought! There's probably some way to make a very poignant #MeToo season about a star athlete who keeps groping his lady classmates, or something. You know?
Anyway, the creators of American Vandal clearly heard all your praise for their depiction of high school losers, because they're doubling down here in Season 2. Things were a little less funny and a little more nakedly moralistic the second time around, despite a bunch of poop-based pranks, and without spoiling anything major, I'll just say that catfishing and cybersecurity play a huge role in the story.
It was fine. Not sure if I liked it better or worse than the first season - probably just a little bit better? - but then, the idea that I haven't given it any real thought speaks pretty loudly about how I feel about American Vandal in general.
Here's a thought. How many high schools around the country have been subject to recurring, large-scale, shit-based pranks? And now, how many have been subject to school shootings? And, moreover, to sexual assault cases? I mean, I'm not suggesting that American Vandal should go ahead and do a school shooting or a rape season - both of those concepts would actually fly in the face of the low-stakes "whodunnit" nature of the show. But I guess I'm saying, hey, there's real shit that high schoolers are dealing with that could potentially be mined or referenced in some way, no? I mean, even just making one of the talking head interviewees to say something like, "I always figured he might shoot up the school someday, but making everyone shit their pants? Horrific."
Just some food for thought! There's probably some way to make a very poignant #MeToo season about a star athlete who keeps groping his lady classmates, or something. You know?
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