Nimrods arrives in UK cinemas on August 11, 2026 from Trafalgar Releasing.
Synopsis
When Tommy receives a phone call inviting his band to open for Green Day on New Year’s Eve, he doesn’t realise it’s an elaborate prank by his older brother, Wayne. Desperate to believe his life is about to change, Tommy steals Wayne’s car and begins driving his band from Kansas City to Los Angeles, hell-bent on getting there in three days.
Review
After 30 years in the business and 14 studio albums to their name, Green Day have essentially done it all. However, the one area they’ve never seemed to capitalise on over their extensive career is film, despite a memorable cameo in The Simpsons Movie back in 2007. Now, after a handful of festival showings, Billie, Tré and Mike have finally leapt to the big screen with the aptly titled Nimrods.
Director Lee Kirk, who has worked with Billie Joe Armstrong before, starts the film off by delving into usual tropes you’d expect to see in a typical high school coming-of-age drama. The main characters are rebellious, and the family drama, though well done, tackles a lot of stuff you’re used to seeing within this genre. The only thing that sets it apart is the fact that it’s all soundtracked by Green Day’s back catalogue. For the most part, you expect the film to stick to this genre for the entire runtime, which is exactly where Nimrods pulls the rug from under you.
Once Tommy, Fred and Chad begin their journey to LA as the Analog Dogs, a band name that results in a rather funny recurring gag, the film finds its groove and becomes much more comfortable with what it wants to do. The first act isn’t bad by any means; it’s only there really to establish the character dynamics and story so the film can get to the meat of what it wants to explore. When switching to the road trip aspect, it also uses this framing to explore varying subgenres, even if it’s just for a singular scene. From rom-com to stoner comedy and even a little bit of horror, thanks to a memorable cameo from Fred Armisen, the film isn’t afraid to try something different from time to time, and the fact that it does so is pretty admirable.
The idea of a road trip film dipping into these varying genres may sound messy at first, but the way Kirk uses each pitstop as a playground to explore them is a refreshing change of pace for a film like this and is not what you would initially expect. What glues all these contrasting moments and ideas together is a consistent sense of humour that perfectly ebbs and flows courtesy of other cameos from the likes of Sean Gunn and Bobby Lee and strong performances from Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust, who balance the dramatic tensions with that slight youthful innocence that is needed to ground their characters during the more over-the-top scenes.
The closing moments of the film are a bit on the cheesy side, but by that point, it does feel earned. The fun, pop-punk energy that Green Day are best known for weaves throughout Nimrods from start to finish in a way that feels genuinely earnest. It’s an odd example of a film being used to tell an original story that also heavily reflects and is inspired by Green Day’s early years…whilst also having the band themselves appear in the film alongside their younger counterparts. That being said, it is a nice change to see a musician’s origins told in a different manner compared to the tried-and-tested biopic formula that is arguably starting to become stale at this point.
Nimrods is at its best when it leans into its rock sensibilities and playfulness, all while keeping the main character’s personal journeys in mind. It’s a fun ride that works when it needs to and harkens to an era of film and pop culture that is gradually fading away. Though the same tone, humour and story could have been achieved with a much tighter edit, what we do get is still a blast nonetheless.
Verdict
Nimrods is wholeheartedly a film made for Green Day fans. What starts as a straightforward coming-of-age drama quickly spirals into a humorous and heartfelt road trip comedy that always keeps its characters and love of music at its core, despite some peculiar detours.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
