Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 40 minutes, Director – Matt Johnson
Best friends Matt (Matt Johnson) and Jay (Jay McCarrol) have been trying for almost two decades to play a gig at the Rivoli, after a failed skydiving stunt, time travel back to 2008 is the new way to go.
It takes unbelievable confidence, bravery and enjoyment of the craft to make something as bold and wild as Nirvanna: The Band – The Show – The Movie. The feature follow-on from the TV series spun-off from the web series, each following best friends Matt (director Matt Johnson) and Jay (Jay McCarrol) – both of whom co-write – as they try to secure a gig for their band Nirvanna: The Band at their local music venue, the Rivoli in Toronto.
After almost 20 years of trying, with the latest attempt involving a failed skydive attempt from the CN Tower, the next step is to turn their RV into a time machine – inspired by Back To The Future – which transports them back to 2008. Amongst worry and attempts to get back without the future having changed we still see plans being concocted as to how to make it big; largely led by the ambitiously hopeful Matt, the leader of much of the film’s chaos.
The ambitions and madcap ideas and experiences of the central pair perfectly match the overall style of the film. Shot like a mockumentary, although breaking the fourth wall in laugh-out-loud fashion to cut to clips from the original web series, a number of scenes are filmed with hidden cameras and brief interactions with the public on the streets of Toronto. The joke doesn’t seem to be the reaction of those who aren’t aware they’re being filmed but more the behaviour of Matt and Jay, the things they say and do and how their film and adventures have burst out into the real world, both past and present.
The whole thing feels like a film made by a small group of friends just having fun making something. That fun comes across on-screen and brings through the gonzo laughs throughout. In a narrative and film that feel like they go against everything that should conventionally work, do their own thing and succeed thanks to the drive that the cast and crew all have. For fans of the web and TV series (neither of which I’ve seen, or had heard of until now) this feels like something completely maintaining the spirit whilst successfully broadening to a feature film. For fellow outsiders when the laughs start coming it’s easy to embrace, and slightly marvel at, the madness and pure ambition of the film. One that knowingly takes inspiration from the likes of Back To The Future and Bill And Ted and bringing its own style to them.
One of the boldest, most ambitious films of the year comes in the form of a mad time travel comedy that keeps its spirit of friends having fun creating together at its core. Funny, mad and unashamed about letting its characters and their schemes burst into our world.
Just A Little Bit Random 