Written by Gabe Kanter

Warning: This review is for Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, which is a film presented at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. There may be slight spoilers present. Reader discretion is advised.

Image courtesy of the Toronto International film Festival.

It takes a lot of hard work and precision to successfully mix unscripted interactions involving real strangers on the street, with completely scripted comedic shenanigans between two friends, and turn it all into one consistent story, but this is something that Matt Johnson and Jay McCaroll have been brilliant at with their entire Nirvana the Band the Show journey. For those unfamiliar with this journey, it all began back in 2007 with a low budget mockumentary web-series in which Matt and Jay play fictionalized versions of themselves whose entire goal is to book a gig at The Rivoli (a bar and performance space in downtown Toronto), while calling themselves Nirvanna the Band despite them not actually being in a band nor having recorded any actual songs together. A plethora of outstanding Toronto-specific comedy and a passionate cult following came out of this web series and ten years later, the network Viceland gave Matt and Jay the green light to take their niche web series and turn it into a full-on, twenty-minute mockumentary TV series where their shenanigans running around Toronto, trying to book a gig at The Rivoli could be expanded and put on an even larger scale. The show only lasted two seasons and ended back in 2018, but I became a massive fan of these two artists from the moment I watched the first episode just over five years ago as it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

Although I’ve always been a fan of unscripted cringe comedy involving real people (I’d consider Sacha Baron Cohen and Nathan Fielder to be two of the masters of this genre), what Matt and Jay bring to the table that is entirely fresh and unique, is the ability to combine this style with absurd, entertaining and sometimes even heartfelt, scripted comedy, loaded with pop culture references and Toronto specific humour. Each episode continued to surprise me and despite how absurd the comedy and publicity stunts get, the story somehow grips you emotionally and keeps you invested in these goofballs to the extent where you start to question what genre it is that you are actually watching.

When it was first reported back in 2023 that Matt Johnson was returning to his Nirvanna the Band the Show roots alongside Jay McCaroll and the duo were going to make a feature film this time around, I was very excited. It became my most sought after ticket when the TIFF schedule was announced and after seeing the film at the Scotiabank theatre at this year’s festival, which was followed by a Q&A with both Matt and Jay and key members of their crew, I was elated and thrilled that this film did not disappoint in the slightest. There is always a risk when returning to a beloved property that has been left on the back burner for a few years (and especially since Matt Johnson’s filmmaking career has expanded with bigger projects like Blackberry) but I’m delighted to report that this was an absolute blast and a totally worthy follow up to their show, successfully taking their concept and these characters to new cinematic heights.

When I say the film took the concept to new cinematic heights, this was obvious right from the opening act, which is arguably the funniest sequence in the film. This sequence consists of Matt and Jay carrying out their next Rivoli related publicity stunt – to sneak into the CN Tower with wire cutters and parachutes and go up to the observation deck level to jump off, landing in the SkyDome during a Blue Jays game. The duo fails to realize that the dome is closed on that particular day and their plan falls flat as they end up landing on the roof of the dome. This entire sequence though hilarious, is also seamlessly put together mixing real footage of Matt and Jay doing the CN Tower Skywalk, with visual effects of them jumping off and skydiving, to the point where I could not even comprehend what was real and what wasn’t, making it a truly impressive cinematic achievement.

After their SkyDome skydiving plan fails, a new publicity stunt is decided on involving a Back to the Future inspired RV powered by Orbitz (a drink popular in the mid 2000’s and one of many nostalgia gags that the film offers), which sends Matt and Jay back in time to the year 2008, still in Toronto and unsure of what the heck is going on and how they were able to time travel. The actual plot of the film reveals itself to be entirely, a rip-off of Back to the Future which may sound like a criticism, but it really isn’t because Matt and Jay always execute their pop culture references with love and admiration, and what follows is just pure chaos in the best way possible. They go all-in on their absurd mockumentary style, returning to scenes and moments that they shot for their web series back in 2008 and interacting with their past selves, turning a plot that may sound like a fever dream, into something that’s somehow both hilarious and oddly heartfelt. The film consistently plays with real people and real interactions but is never mean spirited, it wears its absurdity on its sleeve and ends up delivering a final act that slowly creeps up on you with real emotion.

You don’t necessarily need to have seen their web or TV series to enjoy this endlessly entertaining, hilarious and creative film but it certainly does help. To viewers unfamiliar with their past work, the premise would likely seem stupid and absurd, and the style of humour will either click with you, or it won’t, but what makes it all work is the chemistry between Matt and Jay and the team behind the camera who clearly know what they are doing. Matt Johnson spoke during the Q&A about how much footage they shot, how much the story and ideas were constantly changing and how much footage was left on the cutting room floor. To pull this film off as well as they did on this budget and to legally clear some of the insane ideas in this one is nothing short of a miracle. Their improv-heavy, anything goes mockumentary style gives the film such a spark, and their love for Toronto shines through. Whether it’s a perfectly timed TTC streetcar visual gag, a Jian Ghomeshi joke or their usual chaos running on Queen Street, you can just feel that this film is made by people who know this city inside and out.

What is ultimately most impressive about all of this is that for all the comedy and deranged extremes that this film delivers, it ends up being surprisingly heartfelt thanks to its exploration of male friendship and all the ups and downs that come with it. These guys have a deep connection and through all the chaos you witness here, you can truly feel that this is all being delivered by two people who are willing to go for it and put everything on the line for each other and for this city they love dearly. The story feels right at home and between the jumble of streetcar wires, and iconic Toronto landmarks at the heart of it, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is the kind of madness that could only happen in Toronto – and those of us born and raised Torontonians are lucky it did.

Gabe Kanter has a Bachelor's degree in Film and Media from Queen’s University and currently works for “Blue Ant Media”, an international streamer, production studio and rights-management company based in Toronto. He is an avid consumer of film and television and is the host and creator of the podcast “TV Sessions”, made for diehard fans of prestige dramas. TIFF is one of his favourite times of the year.