Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few years, you may have noticed that America has an obsession with true crime. Netflix released Making a Murderer in December of 2015 and everyone, I mean everyone was talking about the murder of Teresa Halbach and the (possibly) wrongful conviction of Steven Avery. I watched the entire thing ridiculously fast and was hooked on the compelling and addicting show. This certainly isn’t the first time that America became obsessed with a murder case and most definitely won’t be the last.
If you haven’t heard of American Vandal, I’ll give you the gist of it. A high school’s teacher parking lot was vandalized with red penises on every car. The tagline of the show is “Who drew the dicks.” Sounds pretty juvenile, right? Unless you find sex jokes and dumb teen humor funny you probably won’t like this show. However, this isn’t an average teen comedy.
I know the using word “brilliant” might seem like I’m exaggerating in this case, but I’m not. The show plays exactly like a true crime documentary with audio of interrogations, theories and plenty of red string. The show examines teen culture and utilizes Instagram, Snapchat and Youtube stardom, as well as the relationships and reputations of characters that anyone who went to high school can relate to. The acting and script gets an “A” for realism; it really feels like you’re watching a goofy group of teens and not actors. Even though the crime is ridiculous, the storytelling sucks you in just as other, more bloody, crime documentaries.
Besides the storytelling, American Vandal has a surprisingly compelling message. It focuses on identity and how other people’s perspectives shape our own behavior and result in self-fulfilling prophecies. That’s a pretty deep idea for a show that built its foundation on dick jokes.
I’m surprised that American Vandal hasn’t caught the popularity that it deserves. The show is the perfect blend of teen comedy and crime storytelling that go very well together. The characters remind me of the people that I knew in high school, there is enough technology to be realistic but not obnoxious, and the entire thing is just ridiculous enough to work. It’s worth a watch for anyone who loves crime documentaries with some added laughs. If you’re interested, here’s the trailer!