Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
Directed by: Matt Johnson
Written by: Matt Johnson & Jay McCarrol
Starring: Matt Johnson & Jay McCarrol
Review: “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads…” and our destination is: Toronto, Canada.
Alright, who here has heard of Nirvanna the Band? No, not the 90s grunge band fronted by Kurt Cobain. Nirvanna the Band the Show? The Canadian web show turned short lived TV series starring fictionalized versions of two best friends, Matt Johnson & Jay McCarrol, who are in a band desperately attempting publicity stunts in order to get their first gig at the famous Toronto music venue, the Rivoli? Ah, I see 3 hands!
If you know me, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of Nirvanna the Band the Show. I’ll either make you watch an episode at a party or I will constantly quote it and you’ll have no idea what I’m referring to. So when it was announced that Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie would be having its world premiere at SXSW, it was immediately my most anticipated of the fest. What I expected was more hijinks from the two guys portraying characters, performing stunts in public in front of unsuspecting people (in the same vein as The Eric Andre Show or Borat). I knew whatever the premise of the film was, it would involve them trying to book a show at the Rivoli (as is every single episode of the show). What I didn’t expect was that it was going to be a cinematic joyride through time on a massive scale that takes the show’s premise to the next level.
After Matt & Jay’s recent plan to get a show at the Rivoli failed spectacularly, Jay feels like his time in the band is done as they have had 17 years of no success. Matt, on the other hand, still believes in Nirvanna so after watching Back to the Future, he decides to create a Time Machine in their old RV. Matt, being the idiot genius he is, accidentally makes the machine work. Now Matt & Jay find themselves in 2008 Ontario, avoiding their younger selves, culture shocked from the changed times, find a way back to the present, and yes, still try to book a show at the Rivoli.
Throughout the entirety of this film, there was only one question on my mind: How the hell did they get away with this!? In the past, they have started a fire alongside a building, robbed an art museum, crashed a Christmas parade, and among other shenanigans. So you know for their feature-length film, they had to go the distance and push the envelope even further. Within the first 15 minutes, they already are attempting one of the craziest stunts they’ve ever pulled. No spoilers, but it’s a death-defying sequence that rivals a Tom Cruise stunt from a Mission: Impossible movie. There’s more to mention but it’s just something you gotta see to believe.
Another difficult task they executed perfectly was the attempt to recreate Toronto in 2008. Using old stock footage, older cameras, retro billboards and carefully framed shots, the trick is seamless. There’s a plot point, I won’t go fully into detail, that has Matt & Jay interacting with their younger selves. Using old clips from the original web series interspersed with the newly shot footage, was really well done and felt very cohesive. It was almost scary how conversations occurring between the same person from two time periods felt so coherent. It was so convincing, that my friend sitting next to me asked if they wrote this scene 17 years ago only to film it in the present day.
The same friend (shout out Mark) also went into this film knowing absolutely nothing about Nirvanna the Band. He walked out a fan. You know it’s quite an achievement when a film continuation of a TV show can be fan service for the die-hards as well as an accessible standalone to newcomers. So it’s a reward to those who have watched every episode and the show is a gift a new fan receives after watching the movie and now they have hours of Matt & Jay’s hilarious antics left to watch. It’s a win-win.
Not sure I can give this film a proper rating like I usually do. I may be too biased as I’m one of their biggest fans so whatever the quality, I was going to enjoy the hell out of it. However, judging from those around me, this film is a hilarious, chaotic, absolutely insane masterpiece. Do not sleep on Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie *exhales* what a mouthful…
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie will be releasing sometime later this year.
