Movie Review: ‘Nimrods’

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Review by James Lindorf

Lee Kirk is a writer, director, and playwright best known for directing episodes of “The Office” and features like “Ordinary World,” which starred Billie Joe Armstrong. That earlier collaboration planted the seed for “Nimrods,” which arrives in theaters everywhere on August 14th through Inaugural Entertainment.

The premise of “Nimrods” is simple and familiar. When Tommy (Mason Thames) receives a phone call inviting his band to open for Green Day on New Year’s Eve, he does not realize it is an elaborate prank by his older brother Wayne (Keen Ruffalo). Desperate to believe his life is about to change, Tommy steals Wayne’s car, driving his band from Kansas City to Los Angeles, hell-bent on getting there in three days.

Kirk was inspired by the films he grew up on, “The Breakfast Club,” “The Goonies,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and “Vacation,” and the DNA of those films is present throughout. “Nimrods” feels like a modern facsimile of that era rather than a direct addition because the world is 40 years different. Because the band calls themselves the Analog Dogs, we get to see a lot of the period objects, including tape decks, camcorders, and older phones; Tommy even uses a flip phone in the smartphone era. “Nimrods” strongly reminds me of films like 1999’s “Detroit Rock City” and 2008’s “Sex Drive”: a road trip, possibly built on a lie, powered by music, and anchored by a relationship that needs the journey to heal it.

Thames is very good as Tommy, which should surprise no one after his emotionally demanding work in “The Black Phone.” Tommy is so fixated on vintage objects and music because of his late father that it both explains and excuses his being a bit of a jerk throughout. You never hate him, but there are some tough moments. You want him to work through his grief and become a better son, brother, and friend. One thing uncommon to the genre is the multiple daydream sequences in which Tommy imagines how an interaction will go before Kirk pulls back the curtain to reveal it was all in his head. They are a fun device early on, but they push the film toward an area that does not feel fully grounded. Hurting its impact when the story needs to land its biggest punches.

Bass player Fred (Kylr Coffman) is introduced wearing purple with green hair like the Joker, an immediate signal that he is not going to be a serious character. That holds true as Fred proves to be a source of comedy and chaos. He is so spectacularly dumb that he barely feels like a real person, which also dampens the film’s emotional core. The other band member is Chad (Ryan Foust), the put-upon, buttoned-up drummer who gets his own moment of rebellion. While not as wild as the others, it is considerably more than his mother would approve of.

The supporting cast is heavy with Kirk’s collaborators and recognizable faces. Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, both Office alumni, are here but never share a scene and are given little to do, with their recognizable faces lending the film some goodwill. Fred Armisen, Bobby Lee, and Jolene round out the adult cast, all clearly here because Kirk called in favors to give the film as much recognition as possible. Also joining the film is Thames’ real-life girlfriend McKenna Grace as Olivia, a romantic interest who shares Tommy’s love of music and performing. She is only here for two scenes as his counterbalance, who puts responsibilities before dreams, providing a brief pause in the road trip’s momentum while lending some additional star power to a small film before the story moves on. Green Day appears in a single scene before the road trip begins, and they are fine, with little being asked of them as actors. Their music is of course great, and the soundtrack integrates their catalog with enough creativity that it mostly feels organic rather than promotional. However, some songs are included because they are great Green Day songs, rather than because the scene specifically demands them.

The concert that ends the film does not deliver a cathartic payoff the road trip has been building toward. It also does not transform into a concert film. The story continues to play out with the show in the background, featuring some more unrealistic moments, including Fred and Chad both ending up on stage and Tommy getting a personal moment with Billie Joe Armstrong, all feeling more like wish fulfillment than something earned. For a film that began with a prank and a stolen car, the ending tries to have it both ways between grounded emotional resolution and crowd-pleasing fantasy, without fully committing to either.

You do not have to love Green Day to enjoy “Nimrods,” but if you dislike their music, its prevalence will make the film unwatchable. For fans of road-trip films, coming-of-age comedies, and Green Day, this is a fun, if imperfect, summer outing. The theater audio system will serve the concert sequences well even though the story is small enough to be more at home on the small screen. “Nimrods” earns a 3.25 out of 5.

Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): August 14th, 2026
Runtime: 1h 47m
Director: Lee Kirk
Producer: Tim Perell, Green Day, Ryan Kroft, Anna Keegan
Screenwriter: Lee Kirk
Distributor: Inaugural Entertainment
Production Co: Live Nation Studios