By Anne Brodie
From Toronto’s experiential filmmaker and iconoclast Matt Johnson comes Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. Don’t ask me what genre it is – I’m stumped. Its many genres except romance, maybe bromance, crammed together in a frantic collage of ideas, co-written and co-directed by Johnson. Johnson and Jay McCarrol play themselves in what may be heightened versions. I dunno. You’ll wonder if they really did what you see them do onscreen time and time again. These crazy kids are performers but can’t land a show at their beloved Rivoli on Queen St., in Toronto, so seventeen years later they hatch a plan that will force the club to pay attention. They will jump off the CN Tower and into the neighbouring Skydome. At night. And they will time travel to do it. Johnson’s bravado tells us that he can and will – he’s unstoppable. First, they build a time machine in an old band tour bus, powered by Orbitz soda pop and are popped back and forth without notice . That way he can plan and carry out his unthinkable stunt and get that Rivoli gig. This multi genre oeuvre is outstanding – original, shocking, creative, funny, wry, ultra fresh – we admire his bravado and understanding of dimensions. and even his lack of boundaries .He’ll need an electric cord 553.33 meters (1,815.5 feet) long to connect the Tour CN to a street pole for starters. So, I’ll leave the rest for you to discover. But know that this is one for the books. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie marks the biggest opening for an English Canadian film since Johnson’s previous film, BlackBerry. So, forget the Rivoli. Playing in theatres across Canada.