Matt and Jay try to get a show at the Rivoli…

Canadian cult comedy TV series Nirvanna the Band the Show is almost impossible to describe, even though every episode follows the same basic premise: Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol (Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol) are a band called Nirvanna the Band trying to get a gig at the Rivoli in Toronto, despite never writing any songs (an approach one wishes Nickelback had adopted). What makes it hard to pin down (apart from the increasingly impenetrable title) is a guerrilla style that plays fast and loose with filming permits, copyright law and the fabric of reality.

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie continues in that off-the-cuff vein, essentially a feature-length episode of the TV show. But the big-screen experience amplifies the giddy feeling of watching Matt Johnson flying by the seat of his ripped pants, both literally and as a director. Borrowing liberally from Back to the Future and real-world incidents that occurred while filming (including a non-fatal shooting at Drake’s mansion), the story sees Matt and Jay travel back in time to 2008, the year it all started (as well as being a hilariously recent era for a time travel plot).

The film plays out like a live-action cartoon, with a frenetic, unpredictable energy and wide-eyed characters stumbling into impossible situations of their own making and imagination. Though it uses real environments and news footage, the band’s world is also completely separate from reality. This makes it even funnier when they come into contact with the real world, when suddenly a member of the public is in the middle of a scene. And while not as “stunt”-heavy as some of the series (or their compatriot Nathan For You), there are moments that make you gasp at what appears to be taking place, and then again at the ingenuity behind the camera.

But the self-aware format has always been more a vehicle for the completely unaware characters and their sweet relationship than the unsuspecting members of the public, and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is never about anything other than friendship and filmcraft. Charming, daring and relentlessly funny, the long-awaited movie is a gift to fans and a great entry point for newcomers, or at least no more bewildering a place to start than anywhere else.