By Matthew Moorcroft

• Directed by Matt Johnson
• Starring Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol, Jared Raab, Ben Petrie
• R

Arguably the first movie to have Toronto be a main character in it’s own right, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie begins with a stunt so ludicrous and insane that you would think that they would save it for later on in the film as the big show stopper – parachuting off of the CN Tower to try and land in the SkyDome (or Rogers Center) during a Toronto Blue Jays game to promote their non-existent gig at the Rivoli. It’s as ridiculous as it sounds, and as Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol (playing fictionalized versions of themselves) begin to prep their exceptionally stupid plan, we see every step of the way how they managed to pull this off. It’s borderline illegal and likely something you shouldn’t ever try to do yourself, but Matt Johnson is the master doing things that are borderline illegal to do something entirely unique.

And yet, this audacious stunt is somehow the least impossible thing in this otherwise nigh impossible, miracle of a film. Both a love letter to the city of Toronto and it’s many citizens, while also a wickedly original time travel story that pushes your own sense of disbelief to the limit, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is quite literally unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The laugh-a-minute style of the flick combines with Johnson prior penchant for blending reality and fiction in a way that blurs the line between what is real and what isn’t, which turns Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie from simply a funny comedy into something that really has to be seen to be believed.

It helps that it just gets funnier the further it goes. After that initial jump sequence and accidental time travel setup, Johnson uses the film as a playground to both poke fun at the ways we have progressed as a society while also how he and Jay have also progressed – or, in some ways, haven’t. It’s likely a meta reading for sure, but despite Johnson receiving ample amounts of acclaim for BlackBerry and films like Operation Avalanche maintaining a strong cult following it’s clear that this is the kind of project that he finds the most enjoyment in. What does that say about Johnson? And why does Jay stick with him in spite of it? While one does not need to have this meta reading to enjoy Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, it’s certainly something to think about the further you go into it, especially once you reach it’s near-impossibly bizarre final act. Said final act, which is a homage, parody, and straight up rip off of Back to the Future to the point where Matt himself is convinced that the movie will never be released because of copyright concerns, also involves a manhunt for murder, a broken bottle of the last Orbitz in existence, and a Looney Tunes-esqe plot with lightning that makes you wonder yet again how the hell these guys didn’t get arrested.

There is something gloriously sincere and honest about the way Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie plays out in that goofiness and that surrealness that it makes it all the more impressive how this entire thing was made. The exceptional editing work which manages to combine both old footage and newer footage into new material keeps the illusion going as long as it can take it. When that fails, impressive VFX and production design work that is so seamless that you wouldn’t think it was VFX or production design work picks up the slack. The loose script which clearly allowed for lots of improv based on how certain real life people acted is also just enough to give way to a strong emotional hook that leads to a climax that argues in the power of friendships that can transcends literal timelines and universes.

And when it’s all said and done, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is likely an early contender for a comedic masterpiece of the 2020s, that delightful, madcap energy never ceasing until the end credits and leaving you cracking a large smile. For anybody who lives in Toronto, or hell lives in Canada, you will likely adore Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, but you really don’t need to to appreciate the sheer scope and magnitude of the filmmaking here. It’s one of the most impressive flicks I have seen in a very long time, and one of the past year’s most gloriously entertaining affairs. Hopefully if we see it enough they can finally play at the Rivoli.