As documentaries have become more popular, send-ups have predictably followed, so it was inevitable that someone should make a mockumentary of true-crime investigatory series like Netflix’s Making a Murderer and the podcast Serial (which is cited by the chief "documentarian" here as his inspiration). The "crime" analyzed in this Netflix series is a puerile high school prank—spray-painting crude cartoon penises on the cars of faculty members at Hanover High in Oceanside, CA—and the filmmakers are a couple of nerdy students (Tyler Alvarez and Griffin Gluck). Their aim is to determine whether Dylan Maxwell (Jimmy Tatro), the campus bad boy expelled on the basis of eyewitness testimony from class dweeb Alex Trimboli (Calum Worthy) is guilty—and to earn notoriety in the process. Along the way, they ruffle the feathers of school administrators and classmates whose secrets are revealed in the course of their efforts. Although undoubtedly (and intentionally) absurd, American Vandal is surprisingly well acted and skillfully edited. If viewers can tolerate the series’ cascade of juvenile humor, the show does prove consistently amusing, although one might have trouble deciding whether the soul-searching narration about not letting high school define your life is intended seriously or as a joke. Compiling all eight episodes from the 2017 debut season, extras include extended "interviews" with Maxwell, Trimboli (interrupted by Dylan’s goofball friends), and strenuously "cool" history teacher Steve "Kraz" Krazanski (Ryan O’Flanagan), as well as an "uncut" version of the school board meeting that resulted in Maxwell’s suspension. An offbeat series, this is a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
American Vandal: Season One
CBS, 2 discs, 267 min., not rated, DVD: $29.99 Volume 34, Issue 3
American Vandal: Season One
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