Nirvanna, The Band, The Show, The Movie

Where to start with Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie? Unlike just about everyone else on this planet, it seems, I had never heard of Nirvanna the Band the Show, the web series (and later television series) upon which the movie is based. The web series, TV show, and movie all follow the comedic misadventures of musicians Matt and Jay (Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol playing fictionalized versions of themselves). When we first drop in on the story, it’s 2008, and Matt, the self-appointed leader of the duo, proposes a plan to secure a high-profile gig for the two. This event, he predicts, will change their lives forever, and they’re going to be on the hot track to superstardom. 17 years later, this prophecy remains unfulfilled. They’re still struggling, still scheming, and still living together as though they’re young men in their early twenties, but now, pushing middle age, it’s lost its charm.

And so, Matt proposes yet another plan, to skydive (sky-dove?) into the SkyDome stadium and interrupt a baseball game to introduce themselves to the world, and their band, Nirvanna the Band. According to Matt, this is going to be the big break they need. It does not go according to plan. After a stressful infiltration and successfully leaping off the CN Tower with hidden parachutes, they make their way to the dome, only to have it closed and be stranded on top, thwarted by the weather.

Matt remains undeterred, but Jay is depressed. He can’t do this anymore and decides to secretly break off from the duo and make it as a solo act. Matt, without missing a beat, goes right into his next scheme, like a fedora-clad Lucy Ricardo, involving a fake time machine straight out of Back to the Future. After spilling a bottle of the long-discontinued drink Orbitz—which claims to contain a bolt of lightning in each bottle—the time machine becomes accidentally real, and the two are sent back into the year 2008, where we first met them, and they have to decide whether they want to leave everything the way it was and return to a future they recognize, or to change their fates forever.

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie borrows heavily from Back to the Future, and much of it is filmed with hidden cameras that involve real passersby who are totally oblivious to being roped into the plot of a very silly movie. It’s basically Back to the Future meets Borat, but without a mean bone in its body. It’s a very sweet story that utilizes tons and tons of old footage, including some convenient and fortuitous lines they lucked out on having recorded 17 years earlier, to seamlessly integrate old footage with new footage to craft their time travel narrative.

What could have been merely a clever experimental filmmaking excursion, blurring the line between reality and fiction, obfuscating what the word “meta” means, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie decides to be about something. It’s about friendship. It’s about having the ability to do everything in your life all over again, and doing it again the exact same way, because you were the happiest in your life, not because of so-called success, but because of the people you had in your life.

And, sure, the syrupy sweetness is all well and good, but is it funny? Yes. It’s very, very funny and very, very clever. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is a remarkable event that reels you in with how clever it is, but wins you over with how good-naturedly sweet and effortlessly funny it is, with such excellent chemistry between its two leads.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie travels back in time to 2008, when people still bought DVDs, Blu-rays were fancy, and 4K UHD was just some faraway idea. Appropriately enough, the movie sees a two-disc release, so viewers have the option between Blu-ray and DVD.

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie was shot digitally in two wholly different formats, so we know where we’re at in all its time-travel shenanigans. Scenes set in 2008 are shot on cameras that are web-friendly for the time and look rough, pixelated, and dirty. Sequences shot for the modern-day segments utilize cameras that they describe as looking straight out of The Matrix and offer a much crisper, cleaner video presentation. Half of the fun is in seeing the formats merge in certain scenes, where they encounter their past selves. So much footage was shot for their original web series that Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol were able to sift through and cherry-pick moments to script around, giving a genuinely seamless blend of the past and present.

Though the DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround mix is rather front-heavy on the soundstage, we do see the Alan Silverstri-inspired score making its way to the satellites. And as a quick gag, to skirt copyright issues, Silvestri’s famous Back to the Future gets about two seconds of play before it cuts out, saving the filmmakers from having to pay licensing fees. As a sort of mockumentary-cum-hidden-camera comedy, most of the action is going to be right up front and center, on those LCR channels. Some of the dialogue recorded on the fly, with real people on the street, doesn’t sound the greatest, so those moments are subtitled. Overall, where it matters the most, the sound mix 100% delivers, and where it falls just short, I’m willing to forgive it because of the unorthodox methods used to make this film.

Wow, this really does feel like a blast from the past! From an era when movies used to come backed with special features right out the gate, instead of some theoretical future release by a boutique label. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie comes equipped with two audio commentaries, animatics, a deleted scene and even an episode of the show, for your viewing pleasure.

• Audio Commentary – Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol
• Audio Commentary – Matt Johnson and the Post Team
• Home Movies (HD 11:48) – Behind-the-scenes featurette
• Back to 2008 (HD 11:58) – Animatic
• Running Cable (HD 5:59) – Animatic
• Alternate Opening (HD 3:54)
• Ethan Deleted Scene (HD 2:26)
• Figured It Out (HD 20:44) – Another behind-the-scenes look at the production
• Nirvanna the Band the Show Episode (HD 21:18) – Episode I: “The Banner”

What could have been a self-satisfied piece of guerrilla filmmaking, one that oh, so cleverly defies any easy explanation, is instead a brilliantly entertaining comedy. Even more surprisingly, instead of a cynical piece of hipper-than-thou comedy, it’s a story about friendship, a very sincere celebration of decades of creativity with a partner in crime. Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol have made something special with Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, and its Blu-ray release is packed with features. This one is Highly Recommended.