There’s no question that the movie industry is on quite the tear recently. From Best Picture winner One Battle After Another, to the critically acclaimed Sinners, the lauded Marty Supreme and the recently released Project Hail Mary, theaters are seeing attendees in higher numbers than typical, mainly off the backing of younger viewers, who are seeking out more shared experiences with their peers. Yet, one movie that feels tailor-made for this generation has seemingly flown under the public’s radar during this film season.
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, and yes, that’s Nirvanna with two N’s, developed by Canadian internet duo Matt Johnson and Jay McCarroll, hit American theaters early last February to relatively mild attendance. Based on the internet show of the same name, drop “The Movie”, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie stars a duo of aspiring musicians, Matt and Jay, played by the movie’s eponymous directors, desperately trying to book a show for their band, Nirvanna the Band, at the exclusive Rivoli club in Toronto. After their plan to skydive into the Rogers Centre in the middle of a Blue Jays game goes away, Matt spearheads a plan to fake a time travel stunt, accidentally actually time travelling to 2008 in the process, forcing the two best friends to work their way back to the future while also butting their clashing views on personal success against each other.
This movie is simply incredibly funny. There’s no better way to describe it. It feels like one of the first modern buddy movies to actually get modern internet humor translated correctly onto the big screen. Part of why that works so well is because Matt Johnson and Jay McCarroll are so inversed with internet culture, creating their initial YouTube series of the same name back in 2007, and later getting picked up for a two season run on the now shuttered indie TV network Viceland. Matt and Jay have never been mainstream, taking full advantage of that to poke fun at themselves and culture from 2008 compared to today. I won’t spoil much, but the way Matt finds out the pair have travelled back in time is so funny that it almost makes the entire movie on its own.
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is a must watch. It’s out of theaters now, which is a real shame, because watching this film in theaters is a golden experience, but it can be rented on all standard movie purchasing networks. I can’t outwardly state any other ways to watch this movie, of course, but if you know where else to find it, you must make the time to sit down and watch it. I’d say this movie is best experienced in a group of people, but don’t let that deter you if you’re a solo viewer. And no worries about seeing the source material before watching this, I’d actually argue that it’s a bit funnier going in completely blind. However you have to watch this movie, watch it. You won’t forget it.
