Released: 20th February
Seen: 29th July
From 2007 to 2009, Nirvana The Band The Show was uploaded to the internet (No relation to the band that gave us Smells Like Teen Spirit; that’s kinda the joke). There were 11 episodes spanning between 10 and 20 minutes, and it must’ve been popular because a decade later Nirvanna The Band The Show (Spelled with two ‘n’s from here on out, another one of their more subtle jokes) would turn into a full-on sitcom lasting for 2 seasons. The whole thing is a bit of a cult hit and I will admit I’d never even heard of it before this film came into my life so if you’re looking for information on if this is a good adaptation of the TV series then you’re not going to get that information here. I can’t compare and can’t even find a legally available copy to watch (because copyright law is totally well thought out and shouldn’t be changed at all /s). Fortunately, I don’t think you really need to have watched the TV series to appreciate Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie because it’s good enough to stand on its own.
Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie follows a pair of guys, Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol (both playing versions of themselves) who are part of a group known as Nirvanna The Band and they have one goal: to get a gig at The Rivoli, which is a hip music club in Toronto. Now, they’ve never actually booked a gig there or even really called to get one booked, but that’s OK because they have a plan to make it happen that involves the Centrepoint Tower and parachuting into a stadium. Of course the plan goes poorly and so Matt comes up with a better plan, namely faking being a time traveller to somehow convince The Rivoli to book them… except, oops, he accidentally turned their RV into a real time machine, sending them back to 2008 and allowing these two to change the course of history.
Borrowing heavily from Back to the Future, Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie uses the classic technique of letting a couple of improv comics loose on an unsuspecting public and filming them with normal people as they create these barely scripted sequences, kind of like what Borat did only without the social commentary about the underbelly of racism in America. This technique can either really work or really miss depending on the skill of the improvisers in question, since they have to not only try and make their insane ideas work for the film, but keep a plot going and also get actually funny scenes out of the normal people they’re talking to. Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie is lucky to have Matt and Jay as those talented improvisers because the two of them sell the absurdity of this whole idea perfectly.
Right from the start of Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie when the first elaborate scheme is explained, you get a good sense of what you’re in for: uniquely polite but surprising Canadian comedy that’s going to play around with meta commentary on the very film we’re watching and a solid riff on time travel movies, Back to the Future being the most pointed frame of reference. Once you get into the comedic style, which is less about rapid-fire punchlines and more about scenarios laced with a few pointed quips and some comedic awkwardness, it’s such an easy and fun film to enjoy that you can just relax and let the two idiots on screen carry you off to comedy heaven. The fact that they just did half of this stuff in the streets of Canada with unknowing civilians watching them is genuinely hilarious in itself, just people trying to be polite to some insane people is undeniably entertaining.
The scenes that take place in 2008 feel almost even more impressive than anything else, considering the guerilla documentary style that the film uses it’s hard to make a place feel like 2008 but with a few clever edits and some sound cues you are transported back there for some of the films funnier scenes, including some of the most insanely creative use of old footage I’ve seen in a very long time. It allows Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie to really pull off a big scale time travel movie on a microbudget in a way that feels more real than any previous time travel film ever has, and even throws in extra commentary on the nature of how things that were acceptable back then are no longer acceptable now (hearing the original lyrics to Let’s Get It Started by the Black Eyed Peas is surprisingly jarring, but also hilarious when the offending lyric is played on a loop). It’s these moments that make the film feel bigger than any TV show could, almost like a celebration of a 20-year-old series that even those of us who weren’t there for the majority of it can enjoy.
The one issue that does kind of get a little old is Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie‘s over-reliance on Back to the Future for its plot structure, in that it’s just the exact same plot to the point it borders on copyright infringement. This may be the way this show handles references; I haven’t seen it so I can’t comment on that. There’s a difference between a 20-minute TV episode compressing a two-hour film and a two-hour film copying another two-hour film. We’re talking about the same designs, the same visuals and even the same music at points. It goes from being a reference to being an unofficial remake. It’s not strictly a big problem, frankly if you’re gonna steal from anyone then Back to the Future is a great option in general because more films could be improved by copying Back to the Future but also I’ve seen Back to the Future and taking so many major moments from it is a bit much, if nothing else because once you work out what they’re doing you know where everything goes and while there is an element of it being impressive to pull some of this stuff off in public, comedic wise it does hamper some of the jokes.
On the whole though, Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie is a fascinating little film that feels like a culmination of a long-running project between a couple of friends that is accessible for everyone. It feels like a big full-circle moment that even the uninitiated can enjoy, and I can tell you if it’s gonna be worth looking into the main series to catch up all these years later. I definitely feel like I want to catch up on this fun little franchise now… you know, if it ever releases down here. Worst case scenario, I can always find my way to the Rivoli and try and catch Nirvanna The Band whenever they perform there.
Movie Meister Reviews 