NOW IN THEATERS! Director Matt Johnson’s Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie kicks off with Matt (Matt Johnson) and Jay (Jay McCarrol) on the verge of a major split, sending them into a desperate chain of choices that spirals into a full-blown time-travel mess.
Matt and Jay are best friends in Toronto who have been chasing the same dream since their youth: booking a real show at the Rivoli. As documented on the television show Nirvanna The Band The Show, Matt and Jay have a penchant for scheming outlandish publicity stunts that, if ever successful, would force the Rivoli to book them. On this “episode,” the pair decides to jump off the CN Tower and skydive into the Toronto Skydome during a game. Hilarity ensues.
Needless to say, the duo’s plan fails, and Jay ultimately decides he must part ways with Matt. Jay secretly books a gig in Ottawa and the following morning hops into their RV to head there. Unbeknownst to Matt, Jay, sleeping in the RV, had converted it into a time machine, and Matt and Jay are sent back to 2008, where they see their younger selves (played by Matt and Jay). Needing to get a bottle of the defunct soda, Orbitz, from their original apartment, the pair come close to meeting one another. Dodging that bullet, the encounter sets off a butterfly effect that must be fixed when they return to a very different future.
“…a desperate chain of choices that spirals into a full-blown time-travel mess.”
I’ll admit, this plot description pales in comparison to what actually happens in the movie. It’s so hard to describe this movie that all I can say is that you have to see it to believe it. Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie is essentially a real-life version of Back to the Future Part II. Watching it, I was constantly thinking to myself, “How the hell are they doing this?” How do they meet their true younger selves? How did they actually jump off the CN Tower and not die or get arrested? Hell, how did they get past Tower security with parachutes and wire clippers? This movie exudes true movie magic—on an indie budget, to boot.
There’s also a brilliance in storytelling. This is Back to the Future Part II, but smarter. Sure, there are plot holes galore, but this time-travel story gets really complicated over time. An action scene plays out; later in the film, we return to it from a different camera angle. The proof they landed in 2008 was absolutely brilliant. Then there’s the final twist in the third act, which shows this little indie film thought long and hard about how this story would play out. So much is going on that the story could have easily gotten away from director Matt Johnson and his crew.
The movie is funny, but for me, the fun is watching this well-controlled mess unfold. I would have absolutely hated this movie if its story didn’t have a bit of heart and didn’t ultimately be about Matt and Jay’s real-life friendship. For you, indie filmmakers who want to make a comedy, it’s not enough just to be wacky and silly on screen. You have to tell a story, and you have to deliver the emotional arc in an authentic manner, or you’ve failed.
Watch Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie. You’ll laugh, you won’t cry, but you will stumble across a textbook about how to make a comedy that has the potential to become a cult classic.
"…How the hell are they doing this?"
