POWER BALLAD Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: John Carney
Stars: Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Peter McDonald, Jack Reynor, Marcella Plunkett, Beth Fallon, Havana Rose Liu.
Music has played an integral part in the films of Irish director John Carney – 2007’s Once, which was also a successful stage play, and 2021’s delightful Sing Street. Music is also a key element of his latest film, the charming, feel-good musical comedy Power Ballad, which stars Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas. The film explores themes of artistic integrity, the cutthroat nature of the music industry, failed dreams, ambition, chasing your dream, friendship, fatherhood and the power of music to change lives.
Rick Power (Rudd) is a washed-up American singer/songwriter who has lived in Ireland for the past fifteen years. He was touring the country when he met and fell in love with Rachel (Marcella Plunkett). He gave up his dream of stardom to settle down to raise a family. He is the front man for the Dublin-based wedding band named The Bride And Groove, and they play cover versions of 80s hits for weddings. They travel to gigs in their colourfully decorated van.
At one gig Rick meets Danny Wilson (Jonas), a singer from a once popular boy band whose solo career is struggling. Danny is the best friend of the groom and, as a favour, Rick agrees to let him perform a duet for the crowd. Later Rick and Danny meet up for an impromptu jam session in Danny’s lavish hotel suite. They riff on a number of lyrics. Rick shares the lyric of a song – How To Write A Song (Without You) – which he wrote for his young daughter Aja (Beth Fallon) many years earlier.
Cut to six months later and Rick discovers that Danny has recorded the song and it has become a smash #1 hit around the world and resurrected his career. However, Danny has not acknowledged Rick’s contribution to the song, much to Rick’s chagrin.
No-one believes Rick when he tries to tell his family and friends that he wrote the song. Attempts to contact Danny and his manager Mac (Jack Reynor) in Los Angeles prove futile. So, with his best friend and band mate Sandy (Peter McDonald, who co-wrote the script with Carney) in tow Rick heads off to plead his case personally to Rick who is touring to full arenas, hoping to receive his just songwriting credit.
Carney’s approach is sympathetic and on perfectly song, although it is tinged with a touch of cynicism about the cutthroat nature of the music industry.
Carney elicits good performances from his two leads. Rudd is a charismatic and charming performer and brings warmth and a touch of self-deprecating humour to his role as Rick. But he grows increasingly desperate as he seeks validation. This ranks as one of his better performances. Jonas plays a thinly disguised version of himself as Danny, wishing to escape his bland teen idol image, and this is a role tailor made for him. He also manages to inject a touch of vulnerability into his performance. In their shred scenes Rudd and Jonas develop a wonderful chemistry. McDonald provides some comic relief as Sandy.Power Ballad is a crowd pleasing and feel-good film powered by an awesome soundtrack of cover versions of 80s hits including Celebration, Summer of 69, The Boys Are Back In Town, as well as some original compositions for the film cowritten by Carney and Gary Clark (who cowrote the catchy Drive It Like You Stole It for Sing Street). How To Write A Song (Without You), which is heard often throughout the film, is indeed another catchy anthem. Rudd surprises us here capably doing his own singing to cover these classics.
★★★☆
