Though the rockers are wildly successful massive hits like “How You Remind Me” and “Photograph," the Grammy-nominated musicians have become somewhat of a punchline for comedians and others through the years.
The documentary, directed by Leigh Brooks, doesn’t shy away from showing that part of the band’s history—and the title even leans into the subject matter.
Brooks tracks Nickelback’s rise from humble beginnings in Alberta, Canada, to international superstars. He documents how, after they soared to unbelievable heights in the mid-2000s, they became the butt of cruel jokes just as social media began to become popular.
He includes in the documentary visuals of memes that labeled the rockers “Nickelhack” and clips of comedians dissing the band, including Brian Posehn, who quipped on Comedy Central, “No one talks about the studies which show that bad music makes people violent. Like, Nickelback makes me wanna kill Nickelback.”
Chad was initially reluctant to discuss that part of the story in the film, but bandmate Ryan Peake, 50, convinced him otherwise.
“We get to take the narrative. We get to actually tell our version—it's like you turn the cheek for as much as you can, and then at some point it's like, here's our take on it,” said Peake.
“If somebody stuck that thing in your face every single day and said, ‘The whole world hates you like this, the whole world hates you. What do you have to say about that? Every single day. Every day. Would there be reluctance on your behalf to talk about it? Would you get pissed off? Would you be over it after a while?”
He answered his own question. “I'm over it,” he continued.
“We ade a documentary, everybody can watch it. And now from this day forward, if anybody asks that question in the press, it's like that's the end of the interview. So if you want to end an interview, that's all you have to say and that will be it,” he said.
