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I Did Not Have The Time Of My Life Watching Nimrods
Stereogum’s Tom Breihan gives a strongly negative review of Green Day’s new film Nimrods, describing the purported road-trip comedy as unfunny, noisy and dramatically weak. He says the premise of a teenage punk band trying to open for Green Day could have revived a neglected comedy format, but the film instead relies on implausible behaviour, shallow characters and song-led montages.
Mason Thames plays Tommy, the frontman of Kansas City pop-punk trio Analog Dogs, who is grieving his father while pursuing the band’s ambitions. Jenna Fischer, as Tommy’s mother, is singled out for bringing some emotional weight, but Breihan argues that the rest of the cast and story do little with it; he also notes that Green Day wrote songs for the fictional band, whose sound closely resembles their own.
In short
- Review calls Nimrods an unfunny, poorly written road-trip comedy.
- Its promising teenage-punk premise is judged squandered.
- Jenna Fischer receives the review’s main praise.
Explained simply
Green Day are an American punk-rock band whose success has made them a familiar name in popular music. Nimrods is a road-trip comedy built around a fictional teenage band, Analog Dogs, whose members hope to get a chance to perform before Green Day.
The story follows the band’s frontman, Tommy, as he deals with the death of his father while trying to pursue his musical ambitions. His mother is played by Jenna Fischer, and the songs for Analog Dogs were written by Green Day, linking the fictional group’s sound to the real band.
The film draws on the familiar comedy setup of young musicians chasing a big break. Its mix of family grief, friendship and band life gives viewers the context for understanding the story and the roles played by its music and real-world inspirations.
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