Nirvanna the banned
Posted on March 31st, 2026 –
Unfortunately, further productions by Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol are no longer welcome around here.
Shame because I enjoyed Nirvana The Band/Nirvanna The Band The Show. I mean, it got a bit long in the tooth near the end but the premise was fun: two lifelong buddies try creative ways to get booked to perform at the Rivoli. The execution/production of the show was great, they had good chemistry, and the ubiquitous backdrop of Toronto circa 2007/2017 was gratifying.
Besides, they clearly worked hard on it.
However, having sat through Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie I can now confidently say that the shark has been thoroughly jumped. Aside from the quirky humour, one of the appeals of the original series was the captured reality of urban Toronto. In other words, the earlier episodes didn’t feel like they needed a whole studio production crew.
Unfortunately this feeling has been lost. The budget’s grown, the jokes feel tired and hackneyed, and then there’s the time-traveling RV with a contrived plot involving spilled Orbitz. Even the movie poster’s kinda lame.
If you’re looking to see a recorded slice of Toronto and get in a few chuckles then I can recommend (most of) Matt and Jay’s old series. The movie … not so much.
... with pictures
... with sounds
... with videos
... with opinions
... that's shorter
... that's longer
