Power Ballad has something to say and isn’t afraid to say it. It takes a minute to get started, but the film, co-written by Peter McDonald and John Carney, who also directed, knows how to lay the groundwork before getting to the crux of its story. If we live in a world full of curated “content” and artists who are dubbed geniuses or legends or singular, then Power Ballad becomes a takedown of celebrity and the industry power that protects it.
Carney’s films have always been sincere and Power Ballad is no different. It wears its heart on its sleeve, driven by Paul Rudd’s Rick Power, a wedding singer living in Ireland who believes his shot at fame is long behind him. Rick is genuine; he still loves playing music but he grows tired of singing the same hits over and over again. At one wedding, he plays one of his old songs, from back when he had a band and thought they would play Madison Square Garden one day, but the crowd isn’t interested in it. But something shifts when he meets Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), a former boy band member whose solo career isn’t as lucrative as he’d hoped, at a wedding. They share some music, but Danny claims one of Rick’s songs as his own, driving the latter over the edge as he attempts to get someone, anyone, to believe he, and not Danny, actually wrote it.
Power Ballad leans into the feeling of betrayal that comes with having been tricked into believing a favorite artist, or any artist, wrote a song on their own without help. For some reason, it makes some think less of them because of it (a terrible thing considering art is often collaborative). Danny has a whole system backing him and Rick doesn’t. Who’s going to believe a washed-up wedding singer over a popular former boy bander? The film’s strength lies in pushing us to question Rick the more he gets worked up over the song’s success: did he really write the song a long time ago or does he want the recognition he’s been deprived of for decades?
The final moment between Rick and Danny is the linchpin that holds the movie together, a comeuppance that lands emotionally. It’s a moment of pure realness that sums up a lot of what’s wrong with the music industry and the artists it churns out. Behind the glitz and glamour of celebrity, what is there to an artist? Is there anything at all if that’s taken away? Power Ballad leaves us with these ruminations as it delivers an earnest, wholesome, and enjoyable story. It’s simple (in a good way), an underdog tale that embraces justice for Danny’s wrongdoing in a way that is deeply effective.
At the same time, Danny and Rick are two sides of the same coin, striving to make their mark. What one is willing to throw away in the process speaks to their values as artists more than the success of the song (a catchy tune that will be stuck in your head after). Rudd plays up Rick’s charm — at least at first. He’s easygoing, yet bitter, talented but tired. As the film goes on, Rudd excels at slowly unraveling Rick’s issues without going overboard (though he does some embarrassing things!). It’s a well-paced, sympathetic deterioration, as we feel for Rick at every turn.
Nick Jonas as a former boy band member trying to make his mark as a solo artist is very up his alley, so it’s no surprise that he nails it. But whereas Rick maintains his humanity throughout, Danny’s fades away the more fame he gets. He’s sympathetic at first before he becomes an antagonist of sorts, though one with nuance. We understand his actions even while completely disagreeing with them. It’s a difficult line, but it’s one that the movie walks well.
With a filmography that includes the beloved Once and Sing Street, Power Ballad stands out among Carney’s best work. With a mix of likeable characters and a story that wears its heart on its sleeve, Power Ballad sparks a post-movie discussion, urging us to feel something about the theft of intellectual property and who gets to reap the rewards of its success. Rudd and Jonas make for a good duo and even better friends-turned-enemies in one of my favorite Carney films thus far.
Rating: B+
Level of Enthusiasm: 95%
