If you’re already one of the converted who loved the show when it was airing on Viceland, or maybe an early adopter from back when it was a webseries, I don’t need to tell you that Nirvanna the Band the Show The Movie is the funniest thing you’re likely to see this year, let alone this decade. If you’re not already a fan, it might need some explanation.
First off, you may be familiar with Matt Johnson from his film Blackberry from 2023, which scored numerous awards and nominations at home and abroad.
Nirvanna the Band the Show was a webseries turned tv series that followed two friends, Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol playing fictionalized versions of themselves, trying to score a gig at the Rivoli (a music venue in Toronto). Episodes frequently dance all over copyrighted material thanks to the awesome Fair Dealing laws that we have in Canada (there’s about enough material there to make a whole other blog post lol), having referenced, parodied, or outright shown high profile properties like Netflix’s Daredevil or the opening scene to Disney’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It’s a part-mockumentary, part-candid camera show that will make you wonder how they were able to pull any of it off, and the movie is that ethos cranked up to 11.
Not to spoil too much, but if you were alive in Canada in 2008, you’ve got to see this movie. And if you already have, let me know what you thought of it in the comments!
Comments