Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (Blu-ray review)
Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol are just two aging dreamers still clinging to the fantasy that one spectacular stunt will finally get them booked at the Rivoli. Despite spending nearly two decades trying to land a gig at the Toronto club, they never thought to simply call the place. This time, Matt pitches parachuting off the CN Tower into a Blue Jays game to promote a show they haven’t booked. Jay goes along, exhausted and knowing its a terrible idea but realizes this friendship also doubles like a life sentence. So they sneak parachutes past security and attempt the skydive. It’s just the first of many times I sat there wondering how they didn’t get arrested.
Film ★★★★★
There’s a sincerity underneath all the sets and chaos. The two creators craft a story about creative codependency and middle-aged panic.
After an accident involving a homemade RV time machine, a bottle of Orbitz soda, and Back to the Future, Matt and Jay wind up back in 2008 confronting younger versions of themselves. The movie has a field day poking fun at late-2000s culture. There’s a bit involving a screening of The Hangover which got the biggest laugh out of me, where they realize how badly certain jokes have aged.
Jay begins wondering whether his life stalled the moment he tied himself to Matt’s endless schemes, while Matt slowly realizes that his friend may be the only thing keeping him afloat.
Johnson and McCarrol bicker like brothers, seemingly repeating the same arguments for twenty years. But Jay never drains the humor from the room, allowing Johnson to barrel through scenes with a manic desperation. It’s a testament to them as performers that it never becomes irritating.
Hidden-camera interactions with unsuspecting strangers are consistently hilarious, most notably the hardware-store where they casually explain illegal skydiving plans to an employee who reacts with baffling calm.
The looseness in the middle stretch threatens to make the time-travel plot shaggy and repetitive, but the movie’s scrappy charm always saves it from collapsing.
I found it quite moving how affectionate the film feels toward failure itself. It seems most comedies about immature men eventually punish their characters for refusing to grow up, but Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie seems more interested in asking whether growing up is always worth the trade.
Video ★★★☆☆
Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
Clarity/Detail: Despite the intentionally scrappy, low-budget presentation, the Blu-ray still retains enough fine texture to showcase facial detail, clothing, and the rough handheld photography.
Depth: The 1.78:1 framing delivers a surprisingly stable sense of spatial layering during wider exterior shots, even as the mockumentary camerawork constantly shifts perspectives and embraces the uneven visual energy of its faux-DIY production style.
Black Levels: Shadow detail stays reasonably consistent throughout the transfer, with darker sequences maintaining enough separation to avoid turning the film’s already grimy aesthetic into a muddy mess.
Color Reproduction: Colors are intentionally imperfect rather than vibrant, while occasionally allowing brighter signage, interiors, and street lighting to stand apart naturally.
Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural.
Noise/Artifacts: Heavy grain, unstable textures, and inconsistent image quality are all baked directly into the production itself, resulting in a presentation that feels honest to the filmmakers’ intentionally ragged visual approach.
Audio ★★★☆☆
Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Audio descriptive
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Dynamics: The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 presentation embraces the film’s intentionally chaotic mockumentary energy, swinging from subdued hallway chatter to louder outbursts and frantic exchanges.
Height: N/A
Low Frequency Extension: Bass response stays relatively restrained throughout, but occasional music cues and sudden bursts of activity carry low-end weight, such as the climactic car chase.
Surround Sound Presentation: Rear channels are used more for environmental spill, crowd noise, and room ambience. It’s pretty light, which is expected.
Dialogue Reproduction: Speech remains largely intelligible. Sometimes, like when the two are about to skydive, the audio sounds somewhat clipped and distant.
Extras ★★★★★
Commentary with Matt Johnston and Jay McCarrol: The two leads unpack the chaos behind the production.
Commentary with Matt Johnson and the Post Team: This track shifts toward the editorial and technical side of the movie.
Alternate Opening
Animatics
Back to 2008, Running Cable: This pre-visualization piece sketches out the elaborate time-travel material.
Ethan Deleted Scene
Home Movies: A collection of behind-the-scenes footage.
Figured it Out Featurette: This explores abandoned ideas, spontaneous problem-solving, and the messy creative process behind the film’s guerilla approach.
Nirvanna the Band the Show Episode 101: The pilot-era episode
The Banner
Post Credit Scene
Summary ★★★★★
One of the best films of the year, packed with great extras. Buy it, even if you haven’t seen it yet.
