5 reasons you might like Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie (2026).

Well, it’s happened. Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve got a new favorite movie so far in 2026.

I am Jason Kleeberg, this is Force Five and here are 5 reasons you might like Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie.

Let’s get it out of the way, if you’ve already seen the series Nirvanna The Band The Show, you’re probably already in on this, or out, if you didn’t like the series for some reason. The series is about two musicians, Matt and Jay, played by Matt Johnson and Jay McCarroll who are trying to book a show at the Rivoli in Toronto. There’s a few gags here, the first being that they don’t actually have any songs written and the second is that instead of just asking about how to play at the Rivoli, the duo just comes up with insane schemes and plans to get booked, which doesn’t work out in their favor. This film starts with an insane plan to get booked at the Rivoli and spirals into directions that you will quite simply never see coming that include time travel, murder, and Orbitz soda. It’s a film that is filled with surprises that are absurd. Now, if you haven’t seen the show, fear not, as there are no references to the show, although if you’re familiar with the characters, obviously you’ll have more of an attachment to them. I hadn’t seen the show before watching this but went to check it out immediately afterward.

Because reason 4…

This is the funniest movie I’ve seen in a very long time and if you’re looking for a good comedy, I can’t recommend this more. In terms of comedic style, I think it has something for everyone. There’s physical comedy, there’s dry humor, there’s unscripted stuff with people in the streets, there’s absurdist comedy, visual gags, it’s all here. There’s a moment when the guys make it back to 2008 and in extremely quick time there are like 4 or 5 visual gags that both poke fun at how different comedy was back then compared to now and the way Matt finds out that they’ve gone back in time after completely ignoring other signs made me laugh so hard I missed a few lines of dialogue afterward. The style really reminded me of Nathan For You - at times awkward, but always smart. Their reaction to seeing real life goths in 2008 is incredible.

Reason number 3, at the heart of things this is a sci-fi film so if you’re into science fiction, specifically time travel films like Back to the Future, I think you’re going to love this film. Like most time travel films, this deals with those “oops, I changed something in the past that has now affected the future” but it does so in really interesting ways. It also has countless references to those movies was really fun and the climax, while hilarious, was also quite suspenseful in how they figure out the problem to get the time machine going again. 

Reason number 2, this film revels in its Canadian roots and if you’re from Toronto or you’re like me and just love the city, you’re going to enjoy this. Several Toronto staples get a lot of time here, including the Rivoli, the Sky Dome, where the Toronto Blue Jays play and the CN Tower, which is connected to a big plot point in the film. The Canadian spirit is also celebrated through this film, and every time Matt is running through the streets and says, “Sorry” in his very Canadian way to humans and raccoons alike, it had me cracking up.

Reason number 1, if you’re into inventive filmmaking and like it when a film does something so crazy that you can’t help but think, “How in the hell did they do that?”, you’re going to be in heaven with Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie. Within the first 20 minutes there’s a scene that had me absolutely transfixed wondering how they did it. Later on, when they’ve gone back to 2008 and see young versions of themselves, the way that everything is shot and edited is mindblowing. Once the movie had ended, I went back and did a ton of research on what was done and how they did it and it’s incredibly impressive. I’m already a fan of both Jay and Matt - Blackberry was one of my favorite films of 2023, but while this movie feels smaller in a sense, it feels way more ambitious at the same time. It’s hard to explain but regardless, it is top notch filmmaking.

This movie is inspiring, inventive and feels downright impossible at times. It’s true filmmaking magic. If my enthusiasm or any of the reasons I mentioned sound interesting to you, I highly recommend you check out Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie. If you’ve seen it already, what did you think? And what’s your favorite Matt Johnson film? Let me know in the comments below or email me at forcefivepodcast@gmail.com.