REVIEW: ‘Power Ballad’ Strikes A Common Chord

From concept alone, a movie like Power Ballad feels like a dime-a-dozen. “A younger famous musician steals a song from a talented older unknown, who then tries to prove he wrote the song” is the kind of logline you’d see for a forgettable streaming movie full of crass jokes and transparent, unsuccessful attempts at yanking on the heartstrings. To my great surprise, there’s nothing crass, transparent or cynical about Power Ballad. The latest from Sing Street and Once filmmaker John Carney, Power Ballad is a sweet, deeply sincere movie that reaffirms why we create art. 

Rick Power (Paul Rudd) is a wedding singer in Dublin, Ireland, who put his rockstar aspirations on the back burner years ago, despite still writing songs in his spare time. A stroke of fate brings him and Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), an ex-boy band member who is trying to chart his own solo path, together for a drunken jam session when they meet at a wedding. Months later, Rick discovers that not only has Danny stolen one of his songs, but that song has also become a massive hit. Confused, Rick goes on a journey to prove that he wrote the song everyone now has in their heads.

It would be so easy for Power Ballad to be an over-the-top, maybe even raunchy, “angry Paul Rudd goes on a globe-trotting adventure to get his credit” movie, but it’s not really that at all. No, Power Ballad sits more comfortably as a hangout movie of sorts. Mostly set in Dublin, the charming, sleepy setting adds a unique character, itself full of unique characters like Rick’s off-his-rocker bandmate Sandy (Peter McDonald). So much of John Carney’s film is seeing Rick interact with the locals and play music, endearing us immediately to his quaint way of life.

Focusing on Rick’s unraveling rather than a revenge quest to regain his song makes the story stand out.

Paul Rudd is always affable in whatever role he plays, be that in a horror-comedy like Death of a Unicorn or an Ant-Man movie. Few of his characters feel as real as Rick does. Rick feels a bit stuck in his life, though not in an unrelatable way. He loves his family and his town, yet wonders if he’s squandered his gift. That’s why, whenever his song – which is an absolute banger, by the way –  is stolen by Danny, Power Ballad focuses on Rick’s unravelling instead of a big, explosive quest for revenge. 

This focus really helps make Power Ballad something special, as Rick’s desire for recognition serves as an engine that drives the audience towards its earnestness. At first, it appears that Rick is upset about not receiving the accolades. Then, there’s all the money he missed out on. As the film progresses, however, it becomes increasingly clear that this isn’t about money or fame at all; it’s that this song, heck, all songs that Rick has written, meant something dear to him.

Rick’s journey is reckoning with a piece of himself being taken away and then ultimately realizing that part of what makes art, good art anyway, special is that you’re willfully giving away that piece of yourself to the public. Whether it was presented by him or by Danny, that piece of himself is still out there. That’s what art is all about – raw humanity being shared, especially through song. Many films have gone over the “my life and community are what inspired my art” nugget. Few really explore what it means to give that part of yourself over to the world. For that, John Carney and Peter McDonald’s screenplay goes above and beyond.

Nick Jonas has little else to do in Power Ballad, despite the potential for exploration.

John Carney also fundamentally gets the joy of playing and especially creating music, with the jam session between Rick and Danny a joyous affair that allows them to be their unfiltered self, letting their creativity bounce off each other in a sort of free-flow that will make you want to go and create afterwards. It’s a shame, then, that after this sequence, Nick Jonas doesn’t have much to do in Power Ballad.

The only true sour note in the film, Jonas’ Danny Wilson, has some kernels of a good character. His insecurity, despite his obvious musical ability, and his being surrounded by sycophants like his manager (Jack Reynor, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy), make for an interesting idea for a character. Unfortunately, this never coalesces into anything substantial, as Danny feels pushed into the background more often than that. 

Regardless, the existential crisis that Paul Rudd’s Rick goes through at the center of Power Ballad is more than enough to make it a picture to recommend. Understanding the joy and pain of creating art, how our identity is tied to it, and the function that sharing art holds, Power Ballad is an uncommonly perceptive film that strengthens its ideas with an enveloping sweetness that’s hard to resist. 

Power Ballad is now available on Digital and on Demand.