Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie

Beginning life as a web series in 2007 before becoming a TV show, Matt Johnson and Jay McCarroll’s oddball musical duo arrive on the big screen in Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. Directed by Johnson (BlackBerry), the sequel opens with old footage of the pair scheming to get a gig at Toronto’s iconic Rivoli venue despite not having any songs. Jump forward to 2025, and the pair are still concocting outlandish plans to play a show there. The latest of Matt’s plots involves turning his RV into the DeLorean from Back to the Future to pretend to be a time traveller. However, he somehow manages to build a working time machine, and the band is transported back to 2008. What follows is an irresistible combination of time travel hijinks and guerrilla-style filmmaking that’s an absolute blast from beginning to end.

With the intro catching newcomers up on the premise, the movie is free to dive straight into the chaos, beginning with a ploy to parachute from the top of the CN Tower. The comedic energy never slows down as the pair are thrust from one bizarre situation to the next in front of an unsuspecting public. By the time the feature reaches its climax, the shenanigans are raised to such a high level that viewers will wonder how they were able to pull it off.

As delightfully hilarious as the pair’s adventures in 2008 Toronto get, the heart of the plot remains grounded in Matt and Jay’s friendship. While Matt is still the same eccentric, fedora-wearing dreamer he was back then, Jay begins to wonder if he has made the right choice by sticking with his friend all these years. The time travel angle gives the duo the perfect opportunity to explore this dynamic (ingeniously splicing together new and archival footage to create the illusion), with the plot arriving at some genuinely heartfelt moments that are fully earned by Johnson and McCarroll’s performances.

The duo’s comedy stylings are as electrifying as ever. Acting as a loving tribute to what they’ve created before and a sharp revival, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie can be appreciated and enjoyed by new and returning fans alike.