When I saw the next project from BlackBerry director Matt Johnson was something titled Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie I didn’t really know what to expect. It wasn’t until a couple weeks before viewing the film that I even realized it was a continuation of a TV show that aired on Vice in 2017. I ran through a handful of episodes of the absurdist adventures of two misbegotten musicians attempting to book a show at a venue called The Rivoli (a bar in downtown Toronto) for their equally misbegotten named band “Nirvanna the Band” and was summarily delighted. But while the humor was right up my alley it still would have been easy to think that a full length film of this might not hold up under a two hour runtime. After viewing I was delighted to realize that while the characters can be grating at times, the film version of their show has even more heart than it does humor, and it’s almost entirely humor.

Matt Johnson and Jay McCarroll play caricatures of themselves in their feature length comedy film. Both their real life relationship and the fictionalized on screen relationship has spanned nearly two decades, ranging from a web series, to a television program, to making feature length films like BlackBerry together, and now has come full circle to their original project. The plot of NtBtStM is much akin to that of the show. “Here’s the plan to get a show at The Rivoli” is as standard an opening as one would expect from their Vice program. And that pitch is simple enough that if you haven’t seen the program itself you can catch up quickly sans the lore that you are without. So the two begin their next hair brained scheme to gain enough notoriety to book a show at a somewhat popular night life spot in Toronto, Ontario. To do this they decide to base jump off of the CN Tower, into the SkyDome during a Toronto Blue Jays game to drum up business for their musical act, illegally sneaking a camera up the elevator as they do. Obviously.

The real magic trick of the film is exactly like that of their show in that Johnson and McCarrol use a wide mix of scripted dialogue, improv, hired actors, and candid reactions from people on the street to such an extent that it is often impossible to figure out which is which. They somehow build a plane halfway, launch it into the sky, and bring it down for a satisfying landing, all while committing what seem to be egregiously criminal acts. And yet through all the nonsense, we are still left with a hilarious and heart warming tale of two buffoon’s creative endeavors over the past 18 years. The ending is such a miracle, and it holds up under scrutiny of a story that was meshed together with leftover footage from 2008, several interactions with strangers on the street, and filming outside of Drake’s mansion after a firearm was discharged that just happens to perfectly stitch everything together.

Besides the madcap production, Johnson and McCarrol’s projects also play fast and loose with copyright laws in a way that make it seem like they have to have been served several cease and desists. In their film, they center a bulk of the story on Back to the Future, a franchise that has been held under lock and key so tightly by creators Bob Gale and Bob Zemeckis that try as Hollywood might there hasn’t been any real attempts at a reboot. A rarity in the zeitgeist that we are currently living in. And yet we can hear the sting of that original Alan Silvestri score for just long enough so as to operate under fair use laws as Matt Johnson trundles an RV down the skinny streets of downtown Toronto.

This production is reminiscent of a McQuarrie Mission: Impossible in that it’s high stakes action improv. There is admittedly less action in Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, but it’s absolutely present. It’s often more impressive to see the stunts Johnson and McCarrol can do because we have less faith in their ability that we do in that of Tom Cruise (no offense boys). But besides the stunts, and the jokes, and the absolutely insane production skills, this film at the end of the day is about how it’s better to make something with your best friend and have fun making it, than to be insanely successful on your own. Above all, that’s what makes this movie a masterpiece. I just hope they book that show at The Rivoli soon.

5/5