American Vandal – Season 2 Review

American Vandal

Just my luck, as soon as I start watching this series, Netflix cancels it. But maybe that means the show will leave behind a positive legacy like the first three seasons of Arrested Development and not live long enough to become the villain (like Arrested Development). At only two seasons, though, American Vandal is a delight. It excels so much at being a mockumentary that you’ll frequently forget it’s all fake. This isn’t like the Christopher Guest films, where the whole thing feels almost like the cast is holding back laughter from being in on the joke. American Vandal is played dead serious, which only makes it funnier when the investigation gets more ridiculous.

Of course, the crimes in Season 2 veer on the gross side way more than Season 1 did. Watching found footage of the “Brownout” event (a.k.a. school-wide diarrhea) is pretty disturbing, real or not. But it’s kind of strange that we’re also shown reenactments of this and many other events with staged actors. Season 1 felt very grounded and down-to-earth, since the entire thing was a mash-up of whatever footage the crew could film on their own, beholden to the restrictions of their school’s rules. With fake funding from Netflix, however, Season 2 is more “professional” but, consequently, not as endearing.

Nevertheless, Season 2 is a fun mystery to watch unravel. Because the crimes are more sinister, the show is a bit darker, but there’s still some great humor to glean. Watching the filmmakers argue over the use of emojis as the perp’s telltale makes so much sense but is also so bizarre, you can’t help but laugh. American Vandal’s use of social media is eerily spot-on and makes me glad I didn’t go to high school during this era. I knew a couple of Kevin McClains myself and could totally see their antics going viral on YouTube. Damn, American Vandal, why do you have to know us so well? It’s a shame the show’s canceled now, because I would have loved to see where they went with a third season.

Reviewer

Clark
I love gaming so much, I wrote a book about it.

Published by

Clark

I love gaming so much, I wrote a book about it.