POWER BALLAD – Review by Valerie Kalfrin
Few filmmakers harmonize emotions and melodies outside a standard musical as well as John Carney. The writer-director behind Once, Begin Again, Sing Street, and Flora and Son has a knack for stories of discordant relationships, star-crossed connections, and second chances, explored and resolved through music.
While the themes in Carney’s work have a comforting, crowd-pleasing refrain, the storyteller never seems to repeat himself. His latest, Power Ballad, shows him again following characters’ struggles through music but also celebrating creativity and connection, however you find it.
Paul Rudd (Anaconda) plays Rick Power, a former American rocker now touring wedding receptions in Ireland with staples like “Celebration.” Sometimes he chances pulling out one of his soaring ’80s ballads, which unfortunately empty the dance floor. Don’t dust off your dreams in the middle of a set, a bandmate tells him. They’re not rock stars, just “human jukeboxes.”
Rick left America behind and the dream of playing stadiums when he married Rachel (Marcella Plunkett, Flora and Son) and had a daughter. But he finds a new spark when the wedding band plays at the swanky nuptials—castle and all—of a former member of the boy band Impossible. When the bride and groom ask their friend and Impossible bandmate Danny (Nick Jonas, You’re Cordially Invited) to sing at the reception, Danny turns out to be a gracious performer, encouraging Rick to join a duet of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish.” The two have such flow that Danny chats up Rick afterward about songs he’s writing for his solo debut.
Jonas, who still performs with the Jonas Brothers, of course sounds like a pro, but the affable Rudd, who rarely strikes a false note as an actor, impressively holds his own here as a singer. He and Jonas complement each other as naturally as their casual rapport during a warm all-night sequence where Rick and Danny write, riff, and swap stories about their lives while noodling around on a piano and a guitar.
Danny strikes Rick and us as such as nice guy, it’s a shock when his new single turns out to be based on a song Rick shared that night, something Rick had been trying to finish for years. No credit means no royalties, but Rick is less concerned about the money than the fact that finally, people are singing along to a song he knew he had in him—and no one believes he wrote it. He gets threats from Danny’s manager and jokes from everyone but Sandy (Peter McDonald, The Penguin), his shiftless but loyal best pal.
Jonas, for his part, doesn’t seem like a cad as much as someone insecure and desperate to prove himself. Once the song is on the charts, how can he say it’s not his? But Rudd rightfully holds the spotlight. He and Plunkett have believable chemistry, playfully flirting and kissing in the driveway but also turning frank in a fight. The script by Carney and McDonald gives him ample moments for his amiable comedic timing but also emotional depth. Rick wants credit for his work, sure, but he also wants validation from the people he loves, especially his daughter, Aja (Beth Fallon, Louise Lives Large), a teen often too cool and impatient to indulge his musical tastes.
Cinematographer Yaron Orbach and the art and production design teams juxtapose the warmth and color of Dublin, from the pubs to guitar-strumming busker, with Danny’s modern home in LA, a raucous house party, and cavernous arena shows. The original songs and score by Carney and frequent collaborator Gary Clark deserve a cell light in the air, giving the breakout song a pop-style gloss for Danny (including a fittingly silly music video) and a stripped-down version for Rick.
Power Ballad ultimately isn’t about rocking the biggest stage (Carney’s films seldom are) but about defining success by what makes your heart sing. For all the stakes involved, this is a charming film that strikes a chord, much like a song that hits just right.
