There are many ways to divide the global population, but one of my personal favourites can be defined by those who know and appreciate Matt Johnson, and those who are wrong. As hyperbolic as this sounds (and truly, it’s to be taken about as seriously as his work, which anyone who has seen it will know is about as wacky as anything can be without losing its entire grasp on reality), it is obvious that he is at a point in his career where he’s building a considerable fanbase, with his rise from niche comedian to one of the most exciting filmmakers working today being a fascinating development. Between his acting work for other filmmakers (such as with his longtime collaborator Kazik Radwanski), and his own directorial endeavours like Blackberry and Tony, he was venturing further away from the style of comedy that put him on the map in the first place, and embracing a very different kind of humour, one that was perhaps a bit more accessible to those outside the alternative comedy circuit that he helped define in his native Toronto for so many years. However, he had an idea percolating all along, which arrived in the form of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, a continuation of the web series and television show of the same name, in which Johnson and his friend and collaborator Jay McCarroll reprise their roles as fictionalised versions of themselves, portrayed as off-the-wall eccentrics who would do anything to be famous musicians, despite lacking both the social skills and musical talents needed to succeed in a cutthroat industry. The film follows the duo as they attempt to book a show at the prestigious Tivoli nightclub, which results in them somehow travelling back to 2008, where they are confronted with their younger selves, creating quite a strange situation from which they attempt to escape, to very little success. Bitingly funny and oddly poignant, the film is a wonderful encapsulation of not only Johnson and McCarroll’s style of humour, but also their specific artistic community that is perfectly represented in this wacky, off-the-wall comedy that is as engaging as it is profoundly absurd.

The process of adapting a work that may not be widely embraced by the broader audience but instead tends to be cherished by a smaller group of devoted fans is always risky, especially when it comes to those projects that veer towards the comedic. There is an inherent danger that comes with revisiting something that can be considered niche at the best of times, since we can never tell how viewers will react – this doesn’t only extend to those who are new to the material, but also the longtime followers who may feel underwhelmed by the promise of a big-screen adventure featuring characters that they adore. This is made even more challenging when we consider that the last episode of the series on which Nirvanna the Band: The Show the Movie was based aired nearly a decade ago (which in itself came ten years after the original web series), which means that these characters have been rambling around in Johnson and McCarroll’s minds for twenty years, while still not achieving the kind of widespread admiration that would typically lead to a film adaptation being a foregone conclusion. However, like many successful attempts to transition from television to film, it all becomes a matter of making the film different enough that it offers something new, while also retaining the spirit of the original material as far as possible, allowing veterans of the series to feel like it is an ongoing continuation of something that they love, and allowing newer viewers to understand precisely what it is that made this so endearing when it first emerged. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie achieves this through maintaining the same offbeat sense of humour, but adding new plot points, with the deviation into a time travel comedy being the primary difference, indicating that this film was going to go in a very different direction than any of us may have expected, which is precisely what makes it so incredibly endearing and frankly hilarious, with the sardonic approach to exploring the cutthroat nature of the music industry intersecting with an off-the-wall science fiction plot that somehow makes the core themes even richer and more compelling.

When you are outrageously funny, it’s not necessary to be a particularly good actor. Thankfully, both leads of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie are capable of doing both, which is ultimately what makes this such a delightfully irreverent film, since in addition to having a number of hilarious moments, Johnson and McCarroll are able to showcase their more dramatic skills. While it may not be the most serious of films in terms of the subject matter, it does approach a few more complex ideas, and the dynamic between the two leads is central to this, which is how it manages to become a far more layered affair than we would’ve expected at a cursory glance. Johnson is by far the more bombastic of the two, which fits in with the function of his character, who is supposed to be this off-the-wall eccentric who seems incapable of a genuine moment of seriousness, which gives him quite a strong arc in the latter portions of the film. McCarrol, conversely, has had the more paltry acting career (in fact, every acting credit is for something he did alongside Johnson), since his focus is primarily a musician – but yet he somehow manages to deliver the best performance in this film, solely because he is the more subdued counterbalance to Johnson’s more deranged performance, which is still excellent but would’ve been far too overwhelming had he not been paired with someone who knew how to complement his more unconventional style of playing this character. The primary reason Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie manages to be so incredibly effective is built around these two performances, since this kind of chemistry is difficult to manufacture – we genuinely feel as if we are watching two longtime friends realising a passion project that has been brewing for decades (probably because that is exactly what this film is when we put aside the wacky antics), which makes it very difficult to not entirely embrace the sheer absurdity of this already very strange but lovable film.

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie manages to be just different enough to pique our curiosity, while still keeping with the spirit of the original series, which allows it to have an interesting layer of narrative flexibility that Johnson fully takes advantage of in the process of bringing these beloved characters to life on screen. The reason this film works so tremendously well also applies to not only to the previous entries into what is becoming an unexpected franchise, but to Johnson’s entire oeuvre – he is a filmmaker who understands that the audience needs only to be given a small amount of assistance, since a well-crafted comedy can speak for itself, which we would assume would be a widespread belief, but is oddly quite rare in practice amongst some of his peers, who believe that we need to be guided to a particular point. The moment a comedian feels the need to explain a joke, or even allude to any kind of explanation, it immediately loses its impact. Mercifully, Johnson has never been someone to follow this approach, since he evidently has a lot of faith in the audience to be able to leap onto his wavelength – and this is an unexpectedly daunting process, since as we see in Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, just about every moment is filled to the brim with references that range from the peculiar to the outright obscure (it is liberating to realise that we are never going to understand everything in this film, which was never the point), but somehow it doesn’t make the film any less compelling or funny – in fact, we can argue that this approach makes the film even richer and more entertaining, since it allows for some versatility in terms of the humour. Very rarely do we find filmmakers who are equally adept at slapstick comedy as they are more conceptual humour, but somehow Johnson achieves both in equal measure throughout Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, a film that seems to be far more intricately constructed than it appears to be at first, which is all part of its appeal.

It almost seems like a marvel that Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie managed to not fall apart at the seams, since this was an ambitious project that could’ve been hopelessly tacky, especially since we’ve seen so many of these adaptations prove to be nothing more than hollow attempts to capitalise on the niche popularity of something much smaller than its reputation would suggest, with fan service being one of the primary artistic plagues of our lifetime. It certainly is not a case of newcomers needing to have watched the series to understand the references (there are a few jokes that are made slightly richer with some additional context, but these are more delightful surprises for devotees, rather than being integral to the success of the film as a whole) – if anything, this film serves as a tremendous entry point for those who feel compelled to seek out the series, since anyone who is compelled by this film will likely be thrilled to learn that there are multiple episodes that have the same level of offbeat humour and outrageous antics, many of which are even more bizarre than what we see here. It’s incredibly entertaining and never anything less than genuinely captivating – even when it mainly functions as a series of episodic moments centred around the core plot, it never feels aimless or unnecessarily meandering, since there is always method to the madness, even when it can take a little while to actually reach that specific point. It’s a delightfully offbeat film that knows exactly how to draw the viewer in, which is all part of the appeal, being a perfect tribute to these characters, who may not have seemed all that enticing as cinematic protagonists at first, but very quickly become some of the most compelling we’re likely to see. Nirvana: The Band the Show the Movie is not going to be for everyone, since it does require the viewer to engage with the film on a level deeper than what we initially expect, and some of the humour may feel a bit off-putting to those who don’t entirely embrace this specific brand of alternative comedy – but like many comedies, the film attracts the audience that will appreciate it, becoming an enthralling romp through the urban metropolis that is Toronto, being as hilarious as it is entirely unforgettable.