Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie Review
Nirvanna the Band the Show The Movie is the brainchild of Matt Johnson and Jay McCarroll, this is an artistic, inventive blend of scripted narrative, improvisation, and raw footage of real people who often have no idea they’re being filmed.
The original web series aired from 2007 to 2008, while the TV show ran from 2017 to 2018. Both versions share the same core concept: Johnson and McCarrol play heightened versions of themselves in a band called Nirvanna the Band, and to perform at the Rivoli in Toronto – despite never releasing a song or even attempting to contact the venue. Across the episodes, they devise increasingly elaborate plans to book a gig, whether it’s hanging a massive banner across the road or exploiting a child’s Make-A-Wish.
The film opens with the first episode of the web series, introducing us to the boys as they prepare for their long-dreamed-of gig at the Rivoli. We then jump forward seventeen years, Matt and Jay still haven’t managed to book the gig.Matt unveils a new plan: to jump off the CN Tower and parachute onto the Skydome, Proclaiming that they have a gig at the Rivoli despite not having booked the venue. When that inevitably fails, the next attempt is even more absurd: convert their RV van into a time machine and travel back to 2008, in true Back to the Future fashion. What begins as a ridiculous fantasy becomes real once the RV hits 88 miles per hour, sending them hurtling back to the past.
Matt Johnson directs, having already made other mockumentary-style features such as The Dirties and Operation Avalanche, (also BlackBerry.) the latter’s premiere even becomes a key plot point in an episode of the web series. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is, at its core, about friendship and the messy, often absurd struggle to achieve a goal or become “successful” and how it affects that friendship.
No matter how many plans fail, Matt is willing to pull up his bootstraps and move on to the next plan, whereas Jay he’s just wants to perform. Not keep participating in failed plans to perform at the Rivoli. This ultimately leads Jay to decide he wants to go to Ottawa to play an open mic, but that hope is cut short when the two of them unexpectedly end up travelling back to 2008. Time travel is always a tricky device for any film, and Nirvanna the Band the Show The Movie takes on an even more complicated version of it.
They do actually shoot on the streets of Toronto. Through a mix of CGI and physical set dressing, they manage to transform the current-day into 2008 version without ever feeling artificial. What’s astonishing, is how they seamlessly blend film footage with deleted web series scenes material. The integration is flawless, creating moments that feel genuinely mind-bending.
Time travel plot can derail a story, but here, the boy’s consequences and actions are woven directly into the narrative. The film doesn’t go the for exaggerated changes, ripples and effects affect the central emotional through‑line. The result is a conclusion that, is simple on the surface, with a remarkably satisfying payoff. The film’s setups and payoffs: the minimal dialogue, throwaway jokes return later with new meaning, creating moments that feel earned and unexpectedly resonant.
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie from start to finish, a laugh-a-minute comedy. You’ll be laughing so hard you’ll struggle to breathe. Even while reusing footage from 2008 to open the film, Our leading duo’s comedic instincts have only sharpened, rather than been diluted by them. The film’s opener is a masterstroke in comedic storytelling.
In just a few minutes, we understand the core partnership of Matt and Jay. Matt is an overconfident, charismatic frontman, while Jay is a timid but exceptionally skilled musician. Even within those first three minutes, it’s clear why Matt confidently declares, “right off the bat, they are going to ask for an encore.” We, as the audience, are already laughing so hard that we want the encore, otherwise known as the rest of the film.
The film plays with comedic brilliance, moving effortlessly between boundary‑pushing set pieces. The CN Tower skydive sequence, which feels like a generational comedic moment, and smaller, sharper beats, such as pointing out how deeply problematic figures were still being celebrated in magazines and newspapers, or reacting to the edgy jokes and language that defined 2008 media.
Both Johnson and McCarrol are terrific. Delivering something that is both genuinely hilarious and unexpectedly heartfelt, giving the film’s comedy and thematic tone room to breathe. It’s playful and aggressive use of fair‑use principles play a huge part of why its referential and cultural humour lands so sharply. The musical cues and footage fans will recognise and adore.
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie feels like the culmination of seventeen years of work, delivering something genuinely special. Its pace can be a little exhausting, the time the credits roll, you’ll have laughed yourself to the moon and back. A truly chaotic and energetic ride and one of the greatest comedies of the modern era.
★★★★ 1/2
In UK Cinemas 3rd July, Previews 1st July 2026/ Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol, Ben Petrie, Ethan Eng, Michael Scott / Dir: Matt Johnson / Vertigo Releasing /15
The above review is an edited version of our 2026 Glasgow Film Festival review. Read full original review here.
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