Considered a comedy-drama, the R-rated film “Power Ballad” has its funny moments but also reaches for some serious themes. Set largely in Dublin, it is co-written and helmed by Irish director John Carney, known for directing music-centric films, including “Once” and “Sing Street.”
Paul Rudd stars as Rick Power, a wedding band singer, alongside Nick Jonas as Danny Wilson, a former boy-band star striving to revive his career as a solo artist. When the film opens, Danny is now playing smaller venues as he tries to jump-start his music career. Rick is married to an Irish woman and they live with their teenage daughter in Ireland. Rudd’s natural charm comes through when Rick and Danny meet by happenstance at a wedding in Dublin. The chemistry between the two is what carries the film and provides the authenticity needed to make the story interesting. Without that, the film would be pleasant but lacking in substance.
When Danny invites Rick back to his hotel for a drink, the two musicians have an impromptu jam session. If musical composition is of interest to you, you’ll likely find some delight in this scene. While drinking, talking, playing music, and singing, Danny and Rick discuss song ideas and Rick shares with Danny the words and melody of a song he wrote many years ago. The two sing the song together, blending their voices in harmony. After returning to the United States, Danny sends a guitar to Rick as a gift.
That would be the end of a short story until Rick hears his song climbing the charts as a new release by Danny. After the tune, “How to Write a Song Without You,” scores millions of streams and views and rises rapidly on the Billboard Top 100, Rick makes great efforts to reach Danny and has to go through his management team to try to make contact. The rights to the song become the catalyst for the film’s main conflict. Authorship rights in music are a complex area that require strong evidence when a musician seeks attribution to another’s recorded work. Rick wears his emotions on his sleeve as he yearns for acknowledgement that he wrote Danny’s come-back song.
When Rick finally locates the large and lavish home where Danny lives in Los Angeles, Rick tries to discuss the origins of the hit song. Will Danny acknowledge Rick’s authorship of the song? Now that he is at the top of the charts, will Danny even acknowledge the connection that the two formed during their fateful one-night jam session? And what about Rick’s obsession to get some credit for the song’s origin, at the expense of his family life and his current band as he melts down emotionally?
The movie is an easy watch, with deeper themes suggested but not fully explored. Jonas delivers an assured performance in this film. He plays a character with a similar background to his own, himself having been part of a highly successful band (the Jonas Brothers) and then launching a solo career.
The film would have benefited from more character development of the key players, including Rick’s wife and daughter. Paul Rudd does his own singing in the scenes where he is jamming with Nick Jonas’s character and when he is performing with his wedding band, Brides & Grooves. “How to Write a Song Without You” was written by the film’s musical team and is catchy enough to be believable as the hit song central to the plot. On a letter-grade scale, I give this film a B.
