Comedy • 14A • 100 Minutes • 2025
Something special is happening in Canada right now, and although it may be a little early to declare a New Canadian Wave of cinema, it does feel like we are on the precipice of something great and something that Canadians have been starved from; a reflection of culture that long-form podcasts, op-eds, and YouTube videos, have been attempting to examine for the last few years with absolutely nothing to show for it. Then comes along Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. A hilarious look into the past and present, hyper-situated in Torontonian and Canadian culture. And the proof is in the numbers, and although we don’t talk about box office much, we thought we should make an exception here… Because it became the biggest opening for a live-action English Canadian film since Blackberry (Matt Johnson’s previous film).
Written by the Canadian trio Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol, and Jared Raab, and directed by Matt Johnson, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is a laugh riot of a time-travel film presented as a mockumentary and incorporates unsuspecting citizens of Toronto into their shenanigans. The film follows Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol after their failed attempt to parachute into the Rogers Center (SkyDome) to promote their band and try to play at The Rivoli nightclub. While spirits are down, Matt devises a plan to create a Time Machine à la Back To The Future (1985) in their RV to travel back to 2008 and find a way to play at The Rivoli but becomes harder than previously thought as they interact with themselves and unforeseen changes.
One of the greatest tricks Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie pulls off is seamlessly stitching old footage of their younger selves from Nirvanna the Band the Show, Johnson’s and McCarrol’s web series from 2007-2009 as the older and younger characters interact with each other. It’s no wonder why Johnson and McCarrol have such great chemistry together after working with each other for twenty years. It reminds me of that old adage of when films were referred to as magic tricks, where the audience was left in awe. What this film does better than so many other films is present this film as just that, a magic trick that sucks you in and constantly has you asking yourself how in the hell did they do that? Well, my guess would be the meticulous planning that went into this film in what must have been like solving a Rubik’s Cube of footage from twenty years ago to cohesively fit within the same scene as the actors in the present day. While other, more contemporary shots like Johnson walking through downtown Toronto with an impossibly long extension cord attached to the top of the CN Tower have you laughing and astonished at this film’s creative ingenuity.
Selling any period piece to an audience, even from the late aughts, is no easy feat, especially with a modest budget. So often, when a film is set in the past, filmmakers will either attempt to downgrade their footage with grain and a colour palette synonymous with that era, or just shoot their movie on film stocks to get that feel for the past, all with varying results. Since the film doesn’t take place in the seventies, eighties or nineties, Jared Raab utilized DV cameras in his cinematography that remind any millennial of their own childhood’s home movies. It instantly places you in the past and adds another layer of believability.
I’ve followed Matt Johnson’s career for almost fifteen years now, and although I never started with his web series, I’ve made sure that since his 2013 film The Dirties, I’ve checked out every film he released since. What pulls me back every time is his guerrilla-style filmmaking, which allows him the creative freedom in a country where it’s hard to have one feature film made, let alone four (The Dirties, Operation Avalanche, BlackBerry and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie), with an upcoming Anthony Bourdain biopic in the works. He is truly an inspirational Canadian filmmaker who shows that with great ideas, talent, and passion, there is an economy where younger filmmakers can thrive. Like many Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol, and Jared Raab projects, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is another that shouldn’t go unseen especially if you were born between 1981 and 1996; this one’s for you.
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is nominated for eight Canadian Screen Awards.
Where to Watch
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie was rented on AppleTV
Also worth checking: CBC Gem (often carries Canadian titles not listed elsewhere).
about the author
Merrick Gajdics is founder, publisher and editor of The Canadian Film Reviewer.