Canada’s Instant Cult Hit Comes for America

I talked to Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol about TIFF darling ‘Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie’

Due respect to Seth Rogen, there is nothing more Canadian in pop culture at the moment than Neon’s Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. But even Americans will be able to understand the jokes in this time-travel comedy (and instant cult classic, in my opinion) about two friends who live in Toronto and want their band to play a show at the local venue The Rivoli — at least, according to star, co-writer, and director Matt Johnson.

“Both America and Canada have the same parents, but we moved out much later, so to speak,” Johnson told me this week on The Rushfield Lunch. “So we’re still very connected with that slightly more straight-faced dry British comedy — am I joking, am I not joking? But also, a lot of Canadians end up having Canadian humor because we’re aping American culture. We’re stealing from you much more than you are from us.”

When I saw Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie at the opening night of last year’s Toronto International Film Festival Midnight Madness section, it was one of the most unforgettable theatrical experiences of my life. Based on a web series with a fanatical cult following, the film is Borat-like in its blend of reality and scripted elements and contains enough genuine shenanigans to get the crew locked up for a while — including hijinks atop the Toronto landmark, the CN Tower.

But beyond being hilarious, Johnson and star and co-writer Jay McCarrol’s passion project also doubles as a take on the arduous task of being a creative person.

“It’s the story of somebody who’s got a crazy idea and is trying to convince his friends to do it. And then they go and fail together, which I think any filmmaker will tell you is actually what you do when you make a movie,” Johnson said. “I mean, find me a filmmaker that’s truly happy with something he’s finished.”

McCarrol was happy to answer for his friend: “James Cameron.”

At the end of our chat, I also brought them into a long-running Toronto-based disagreement that’s been hanging over my life since TIFF 2024 — the popcorn incident. (Read the details here.) I was very pleased with where they came down — although a friend says my admission that “I’m afraid the popcorn was buttered” will go on my tombstone.

Watch our conversation above for more context on that and for everything else about this great movie. Seek out Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. You won’t be disappointed.