Netflix's American Vandal Review: 4 Ups & 3 Downs
A very mature satire filled with juvenile jokes.
Through producing popular shows like Making A Murderer or The Keepers, Netflix has established itself as the go-to provider of entertaining true-crime documentaries. Introspective and well-researched, the series set the standards for present-day crime shows produced by other networks as well.
The problem with the popularity of the formula developed and used by Netflix was that it has become a bit too repetitive, hence the smartest thing to do was to mock it. Enter American Vandal, with the new Netflix show a self-referential satire of the streaming service's most successful genre. And while the choice of material is questionable, the way that the genre is mocked shows great awareness and attention to detail, as well as some serious filmmaking chops.
It's because of them and a talented cast that the show is able to get away with murdering - or at least seriously wounding - the genre. As any good satire, the series appreciates the tropes that it mocks, and even though it's devoted to a high school student who (presumably) painted 27 penises on 27 cars of school staff and faculty.