With: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol, Jared Raab, Ben Petrie, Ethan Eng, Michael Scott, Reid Janisse, Steve Hamelin, Luke Lalonde, Maddy Wilde, Mitch Derosier, Ethan Keyes, Roz Weston, Mocha Frap, Anthony Fantano
Written by: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol, based on a story by Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol, Jared Raab, Curt Lobb, Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson, Luca Tarantini, Evan Morgan
Written by Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol and directed by Johnson, the Canadian comedy Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is rife with Canadian-type humor, and it may not click with outsiders, but the movie's energy and warmth comes through just fine; we come to love these two knuckleheads.
It's 2008, and Matt (Johnson) and Jay (McCarrol) are scheming to get a show at the Rivoli in Toronto. Their band is called "Nirvanna the Band." Cut to 17 years later, and not much has changed. An attempt to skydive into the Blue Jays' stadium fails, so Matt begins working on another idea.
Meanwhile, Jay becomes disillusioned and secretly plans to perform at an open mic night… alone. Matt's idea involves making their RV look like a time machine, but, weirdly, it actually works, and the pair accidentally find themselves in 2008 again. In their attempt to get back to the future, they mess up the space-time continuum and arrive in an alternate 2025, in which Jay is a huge star.
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie opens with vintage footage from Matt and Jay's web series Nirvana the Band the Show ("Nirvana" was spelled with one "n" back then) before jumping to the present. They make good use of the big screen with a spectacularly stupid skydiving stunt before getting to the meat of the story, which is obviously and openly a tribute to Back to the Future. (Matt pops on a VHS tape of the movie while designing his own time machine.)
While it follows the dynamics of that movie (and its first sequel Back to the Future Part II) — there's some fun filmmaking wizardry at work as 2025 Matt and Jay briefly mingle with 2008 Matt and Jay — it takes off in its own interesting directions.
Even if one doesn't align with their sense of humor, their friendship and chemistry is still affecting, and we begin to care about their plight. And the movie definitely offers at least a few moments of genuine surprise. In the end, if nothing else, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie lives up to its title.
Neon's Blu-ray release comes with a bonus DVD. There are two commentary tracks, one with Jay, Matt, and the production team, and one with Matt and the post-production team. A plethora of extras includes home movies, animatics, an alternate opening, a deleted scene, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and the first episode of "Nirvanna the Band the Show." Audio options include a DTS-HD Master 5.1 track and an English description track. Optional subtitles are available in English, French, or Spanish. There are also trailers at startup for Neon's Alpha and Exit 8. (Features are the same on the DVD.)
