Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie time travels to absurd new heights, at the Park Theatre February 13 to 26
Matt Johnson is back with a chaotic, unabashedly Canadian followup to the cult web series
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is at the Park Theatre from February 13 to 26
THE WHEELS SAY IT ALL: In Matt Johnson’s raucous new comedy Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, two delusional dreamers accidentally time travel in a broken-down RV powered by the fruit-jelly-bead drink Orbitz—the strange, lava-lamp-like beverage long discontinued by Clearly Canadian.
That gives you an idea of the chaotic, offbeat, and unabashedly Canadian laughs that power this Back to the Future–inspired misadventure, a big-screen continuation of the cult-hit web series Nirvanna the Band the Show, hitting the Park Theatre from February 13 to 26.
Johnson reprises his role as restless fedora-sporting man-child Matt, marker in hand, drawing up batshit schemes. Jay McCarrol is back as his compliant, piano-playing straight man—both of them bent on booking a gig at Toronto’s legendary Rivoli. It’s a goal that Fate, plus their own lack of talent and rampant idiocy, conspire to always keep just out of their grasp.
That doesn’t stop Matt from concocting ever-more-ludicrous stunts to earn the Rivoli’s attention, including a plan to head to the top of the CN Tower and parachute down into the SkyDome during a Jays game—a scheme you can watch go spectacularly awry in real time. Often, unwitting Torontonians get caught up in the guerrilla action, as when Matt and Jay head to the local Canadian Tire to get the stuff they need to skydive.
The pair end up jumping the time-space continuum to 2008, where they not only find younger versions of themselves, but “real goths” walking Yonge Street. Still, can their friendship withstand the strains of time travel and, for at least one of them, a taste of fame?
Cue an RV load of Toronto-specific jokes and silliness—and you might just find yourself laughing most of the way through. (Don’t underestimate the difficulty of filming something this ludicrous: Johnson is currently up for Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards for Canada’a Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Supporting Male Actor.)
The lessons? Dare to dream, folks—and there’s little that can’t be solved with a white board and dry-erase marker. 
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