Netflix's American Vandal Review: 4 Ups & 3 Downs

1. It Mocks Overtly Ambitious Student Documentaries

We all know high schoolers take things way too seriously. Being exposed as a liar or a fraud may actually get you elected when you're an adult, but in high school this may seem like the end of your life. When everybody finds out that you were lying about drinking eleven beers at a party or getting to third base with a popular girl, your social position will plummet. When you're a grown-up you learn to simply let go and focus on more serious issues.

American Vandal shows what a series created by a skilled filmmaker with a brain of an adolescent would look like. The final product of that combination would be a professionally looking documentary about a rather immature event. The issues that the filmmaking duo covers are not worthy of such profound treatment. Reconstructing a sexual encounter on a bridge or discussing one's toilet preferences are exactly the issues most teenagers would cover when making a documentary.