*SPOILERS AHEAD, No this movie is not about Nirvana*

Last weekend I sat in at an AMC to watch a film that was heavily recommended to me, “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” a long-awaited feature continuation of the cult Canadian series Nirvanna the Band the Show.

So the question is simple: Is it worth your time watching two grown men try and repeatedly fail to book a gig at a Toronto bar?

Absolutely. But only if you’re willing to embrace chaos, and the appreciation of blanent comedy. 

Unlike most comedies that rely on punchlines, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie thrives on escalating absurdity.

Directed by and starring Matt Johnson alongside longtime collaborator Jay McCarrol, the film follows fictionalized versions of themselves as they once again attempt to play a show at the Rivoli, a real bar and restaurant in Toronto, that countless notable bands and artists in modern music today such as Elliot Smith, Stone Temple Pilots, Injury Reserve had played before.  

This is all despite never having written or recorded a single song. That alone would be ridiculous enough. But then they accidentally invent time travel.

What Is Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie About?

At its core, the film is about delusion, the kind that fuels artists who believe success is always one outrageous stunt away.

Seventeen years after forming their band, Matt and Jay still haven’t secured a show at the Rivoli. In a last-ditch publicity stunt, they attempt to skydive off the CN Tower into the Rogers Centre during a Toronto Blue Jays game. The plan fails spectacularly when the stadium roof closes mid-dive.

What follows is a chain reaction of desperation: a fake time machine built in an RV, a spilled bottle of Orbitz, and an accidental trip back to 2008, the year the band began.

From there, the film transforms into a surprisingly meticulous time-travel comedy. The duo attempts to manipulate their younger selves, accidentally create an alternate timeline where Jay becomes a massive celebrity, and spiral into increasingly absurd consequences involving murder, scandal and lightning strikes.

The film’s climax involves running a cable from the top of the CN Tower to power the RV’s “time circuits,” with Matt ultimately sacrificing himself to restore the original timeline. It is as ridiculous as it sounds, and somehow emotionally sincere.

Chaos as Craft

What makes this film stand out isn’t just its premise, but how it was made.

Shot over more than 200 days with a skeleton crew, many of the public stunts were filmed without permits. Johnson has openly discussed how sequences , including the opening CN Tower bit, were captured using unsuspecting participants and carefully orchestrated improvisation.

One stunt was filmed the same day Taylor Swift was performing in Toronto during her Eras Tour, intentionally using citywide chaos as cover. In another moment ripped from real headlines, footage shot outside Drake’s Bridle Path mansion during a real-life news event is recontextualized inside the film’s narrative.

Is it reckless filmmaking? Yes, but calculated reckless filmmaking.

Does It Work?

Critically, yes.

The film premiered at South by Southwest Film & TV Festival before screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People’s Choice Award in the Midnight Madness program.

It currently holds strong scores on both Rotten Tomatoes (97%) and Metacritic (78) reflecting broad critical support.

But beyond the numbers, what works is the commitment to the bit.

Time-travel comedies often collapse under their own logic.

This one leans into its absurdity while still carefully threading cause and effect. The emotional core, Jay realizing fame without friendship is hollow , grounds what could otherwise be pure sketch comedy.

Final Thoughts

If you prefer tightly structured studio comedies, this will feel messy. If you dislike cringe humor or elaborate long-form pranks, it may exhaust you.

But if you appreciate inventive, boundary-pushing filmmaking — and the rare comedy willing to risk looking stupid in pursuit of something memorable — this is one of the boldest releases in recent years.

It’s about friendship. It’s about artistic delusion. Most of all, it’s about two men who refuse to admit they’ve never written a song.

Somehow, against all odds, that makes for one of the funniest time-travel films in years, if not the funniest. 

Final Rating: Four out of Five Stars!