Nimrods Star Reveals Watching Green Day Before Filming Was His First Concert [EXCLUSIVE]
Having drawn comparisons to genre staples like Fanboys and Detroit Rock City, it’s no secret why Nimrods is gearing up to be wildly popular with millennials (as if it needed any more reason than being a hilarious, heartfelt coming-of-age story set to the dulcet tones of Green Day). And with all that going for it, it also managed to capture the kind of nostalgia that seemed only possible to find in movies made in the 90s; it’s the film equivalent of a road trip in a van that smells like cigarettes and stale beer where everyone present is wearing inexplicably ripped t-shirts and is better for it.
Starring Mason Thames, McKenna Grace, and Jenna Fischer, Nimrods centers on Tommy as he receives insane news: his band has been selected to open for music legends Green Day on New Year’s Eve. Too wrapped up in his excitement, Tommy has no idea that none of it’s real—it’s all just an elaborate prank by his older brother, Wayne. Well, tough luck for Wayne, because, in his effort to change his life for the better, Tommy steals his car to get his band from Kansas City to LA in time to perform. And life imitated art in this case, as star Mason Thames told ComicBook’s Chris Killian at San Diego Comic Con that watching Green Day in preparation for filming was actually his first concert. “It was one of the craziest experiences of my life,” he said. “For somebody who’s never been to a concert before, it was like fire going on. It was wild.”
Nimrods Is a Mixtape in Film Form—and We Need More Films Like That
And the early reviews that have started to roll in confirm that the vibes Nimrods brings to the table are exactly what’s been missing from movies for a while now; there’s a special kind of heart and storytelling present that’s been lacking in recent offerings. While it does rely a decent amount on the nostalgia of the audience, that’s not even close to all that pushes the story forward—it’s surprisingly character-driven and tender. Critic Chris Wasser says, “A few storytelling hiccups aside, this is a tuneful and largely irresistible coming-of-age flick, loosely inspired by true tales from the Green Day tour vault. Lifelong Dookie enthusiasts will approve.”
Expanding on what inspired him to bring Nimrods to life, director Lee Kirk gave a nod to discovering Green Day via their album Dookie back in the 90s. “It’s been part of my musical tastes ever since, you know? It was fun to be able to dig back into all that music from Green Day from back in the day.” When asked if any stories from the band’s history were too wild to include in the film, Lee was quick to confirm that he didn’t tone anything down. “I’ve sort of changed for the fictionalized version, but there’s nothing I had to get rid of. I wanted all the stuff, you know? They’ve got all the crazy stories, man.” His favorite Green Day story? Obviously the one that most fans have heard where the band stayed somewhere in Germany, “and the guy had a head in a jar in his room named Sleepy.” And don’t worry, Sleepy does make an appearance in the movie.
