Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie ★★★★★

Released: 3 July 2026

Director: Matt Johnson

Starring: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol

“The truth is, if you’ve got a best friend, you won’t even notice getting older”, somewhat hesitantly muses Matt Johnson playing Matt Johnson trying not to wake up Matt Johnson. If this sentence is confusing, well, it is by design: in the world of the masterfully stupid Nirvanna the Band cinematic universe, everything is done through the lens of deceptive zaniness that sneaks up with unexpected sincerity. In their latest venture—now in theatrical movie form—the duo of extremely Canadian best friends, Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol, transcend time and space to prove male friendship could withstand even the most nightmarish horror: going back to 2008.

Over the years, Matt and Jay have attempted hundreds of plans to play a gig at Toronto’s fabled venue, The Rivoli. They’ve tried giving out flyers, asking a Make-A-Wish kid to help them out, talking to cosplayers at a midnight screening of The Force Awakens while temporarily blind… all to no avail. In their final movie escapade, the duo decided to act out their inner Back to the Future fantasies and accidentally created a time machine that transported them back to the time when homophobic humour was rampant and Jian Ghomeshi’s face could be seen on billboards across the streets of Toronto. Terrifying.

A quick primer for those unfamiliar with Nirvanna the Band: this mockumentary show-turned sitcom-turned movie is pure Canadian excellence. Think Bill & Ted meets Tim & Eric, a celebration of glorious absurdity that is as hilarious as it is unexpectedly clever. Expect plenty of guerrilla filmmaking antics, Toronto-based references, and so much heart that you’d be surprised one of its creators thinks the most beautiful line in the film is “the hackiest schtick [he’d] ever said”.

It really is a cosmic miracle this movie even exists. Not only because something as niche as a Viceland show getting a theatrical comedy is unusual, but the intricate formal choices on display make this feel like a real testament to the power of high-concept filmmaking. It’d be a disservice to reveal the extent to which Matt and Jay planned the film out years in advance, but combine that precision with improvised comedy writing, and the result is something uniquely deranged. Hysterical doesn’t even begin to describe it.

In this age of looksmaxxers and technofascist trillionaires, it’s never been a more appropriate time to talk about positive representations of masculinity and male friendship. After all, few things are more intense than a bond between two straight men who are willing to open up emotionally, man to man, friend to friend. Nirvanna the Band captures that sentiment in a surprisingly mature way, finding comfort and childlike wonder in aging alongside the friend you’ve experienced your life with. Beneath all the deadpan humour and Canadian decorum is a real interrogation of artistic collaboration, camaraderie, and emotional complexity in an age of widespread cynicism. Perhaps, the real friends are the ones you can be selflessly dumb with.