The following is not a comprehensive review or analysis of VGHS. It is simply my thoughts on the series.
VGHS is like a guy with the best cards in a game and ends up playing it safe most of the way. The show has a pretty interesting premise, a nice set of characters, a lot of material to work with. But seldom ends up no more than the average cliched high school drama.
The Something Awful Review sums it up pretty well:
"So this is it. Finally. The glorious people's revolution, the righteous wave of trendy internet democratization that will finally bring down the soulless Hollywood studio machine once and for all, delivering us from the cruel, pitiless dark ages of bloated hyper-commercial filmmaking into the heavenly light of user-driven content and crowdsourced creative liberty! The future! The ultimate egalitarian wet dream! Time to reap the benefits of totally independent, fan/crowd-funded movie making, such as:
- No more mindless formula recycling (e.g. nerdy outsider getting the hot popular girl after defeating her jerkbag boyfriend who also happens to be his arch nemesis in some kind of stupid boring contest thus proving his manhood)
- No more pandering to the lowest common denominator with stupid references and horribly stilted throwaway lines (like, say "ARE YOU CO-CO-KIDDING ME?! I AM CUCKOO FOR COCONUT CAKE!")"
For all the great special effects and interesting world they present, VGHS fails to make anything more than that, consistenly dropping interesting plot ideas
Let's look at a few specific examples. At the start of the show, one of Brian's consistent struggles is how if he's ranked too low on the leaderboard, he will be expelled. Yet, after a certain point in the story, the whole aspect is dropped. Brian or nobody ever has to worry about that. Or when Brian has to become a janitor and is having trouble balancing his life while his coach wants him to eat healthy, that whole aspect is dropped immediately. Initially, Brian shows off his skills by playing around the game in practice with the Tomahawk but that aspect is dropped. Or The Law, who originally is one of the best players ever, is reduced to "3 Stooges" comedy character when he and his later doppelganger decide to team up in the final battle. None of the other aspects of the school or its logistics are ever given more than a glimpse at best.
Sure, the series cycles through a lot of interesting ideas and scenarios, and is a comedy. But with very little consistency or dedication to any of its plots and set ups, the series fails to be anything more than a really elaborate set of Youtube Videos rather than a truly interesting movie.
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