Nimrods: A Green Day Comedy

In Nimrods, high schooler Tommy (Mason Thames) is in a punk band with best friend Fred (Kylr Coffman) and mild-mannered drummer Chad (Ryan Foust). They’re also massive fans of Green Day (who co-created the story alongside director Lee Kirk). When Tommy gets a call from his music heroes asking him to open for them on New Year’s Eve, he steals a car belonging to his older brother, Wayne (Keen Ruffalo), and embarks on a road trip to LA with his bandmates. Unbeknownst to them, the call was a prank by Wayne. The result is a riotous, if repetitive, journey through Americana in an angst-fuelled celebration of the punk rock spirit.

The teenagers’ misadventures take them to dead-end small towns, grungy diners, and an outdoor concert. Watching the film is like stepping into a Green Day music video, an aesthetic reinforced by Tommy’s love for analogue media. Their band is even called The Analogue Dogs (which is frequently misread in a running joke). This old-school mentality lends a timeless feel to the feature that keeps the focus squarely on the protagonists.

While the humour is primarily juvenile, there are a handful of standout comedic moments, with an unexpected discovery at a shady motel being a major highlight. The script’s main issue is that it heavily relies on genre tropes. Not only does it force in a subplot about Tommy having a deceased dad, but the boys go through the obligatory break-up scene on three separate occasions. No matter how clichéd the plot gets, excellent performances from the cast make these moments work. Thames and Coffman have an excellent rapport that keeps energy levels high and can land the emotional moments when needed. Mckenna Grace is another noteworthy addition as Tommy’s love interest Olivia, though her character isn’t given much to do.

Despite being produced by Green Day and heavily featuring their music, Nimrods isn’t a vanity project. The closest it gets to self-promotion is a homage to the band’s chaotic mud fight from Woodstock ’94 and a live performance of their new single during a post-credits encore. Rather, it’s a tribute to the punk scene, inspired by their early years on tour. Its plot can get contrived and the jokes don’t always land, but Kirk and the cast manage to hit all the right notes to deliver a road trip film that music fans can get behind.

Andrew Murray

Nimrods: A Green Day Comedy is released nationwide on 11^th August 2026.

Watch the trailer for Nimrods: A Green Day Comedy here: