How Did They Do That? - Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie at TIFF 2025

Directed by: Matt Johnson

Cast:  Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol

Thanks, Kurt Cobain, for getting me to watch this movie. I had no idea who Matt Johnson was before walking into a packed afternoon press screening for Canadian comedy mockumentary Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. Now, I want to watch everything this guy has directed. It is a Toronto-set time-travel buddy comedy about Matt Johnson and Jay McCarroll playing exaggerated versions of themselves in a band called Nirvanna the Band as they try to book a gig at Toronto’s famous Rivoli venue. They never try to contact the venue, though; instead, they devise elaborate schemes to go viral, including time travel.

The first part of this movie has them skydiving off the CN Tower to parachute into the open skydome to promote a show that they haven’t even booked. And it only gets wackier from there. They miss the skydome, so Matt builds a working time machine in their RV to go back and do it right. Many scenes involve pranking real people, reminiscent of Canadian hero Nathan Fielder (Nathan For You) or Sasha Baron Cohen’s work (Borat). I was constantly wondering what was real and staged.

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in a theatre across 15 years of watching movies. I’d be wasting electricity trying to explain the best gags, including my favourite use of Chekhov’s gun in a while. What makes the film such an instant classic is the friendship between Matt and Jay. Matt is the wacky idea guy, and Jay is the straight-faced musical genius. Everyone who’s ever tried to start a band always thinks that the other people are the problem. Initially, I was unsure why Jay would ever want to be around Matt. And then we see how empty Jay’s celebrity life would be without that friendship. The Anthony Fantano cameo and Roz and Mocha interview killed me and everybody else in my screening.

Sincerity feels like it's dying, especially in 2020s art. When everything and everyone feels fake, the art will reflect reality. Watching a film devoid of cynicism, one that celebrates the power of friendship, in 2025 feels very refreshing and made me want to value my friends more. You can feel the fun Matt and Jay were having while making this. It reminded me of this grade 11 French class project I did with my friend Aaron. We had to make a video about why our French class was the best, but we hated our French class, so I just recorded myself screaming over Aaron beating up my drum kit. Everybody said we would fail; we got a 79 and still laugh about it to this day. We need more movies like Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. It is authentic art about real friends just trying to make each other laugh, because isn’t that what life is all about?