Power Ballad Review
When a Jonas Brother and an Ant-Man get together at a wedding, things get weird.
John Carney (Once, Sing Street) is back again, this time with Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas in tow to bring more music and heartbreak to the big screen in Power Ballad. Though I enjoyed the movie, I couldn't help but feel the actors and obvious meta-commentary being played were what made this perfectly fine story shine.
Rick Power (Paul Rudd) is a lead singer to a wedding band that left behind the life of glamor to start a family, though his dreams of fame had never died. At one of his gigs he meets social media's new heartthrob Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), a member of a boy band looking to go solo. The two bond in a drunken stupor after the wedding, collaborating and showing off each others mettle until it's time to hit the road and get back to each other's lives. Months later, Rick hears a new song over the radio that's a bit too familiar and comes to realize that cool kid Danny Wilson had stolen a song he had been working on for over decade and reaping the benefits.
For a brief moment Power Ballad seemed to be a story about creativity and collaboration. Rick and Danny were portrayed as two sides of the same coin. Both are musicians unhappy with where they are in life, but Rick was the one who was confident as a musician while Danny was not. Each character filled out the other's mirror on the seesaw of musicianhood, and when they were collaborating and just being musicians in the moment, where status didn't mean anything, it seemed like they were complete.
Cody Enos
However, once it's revealed that Danny had stolen Rick's song the movie abandons any nuance over being a creative in music and simply focuses on 'guy stole my song' plot. Which is entertaining in its own right. Casting Paul Rudd as a lead made Rick instantly likable, and his sidekick and lifelong pal Sandy is a great character to have around and pull hijinx with. There were genuine moments of comedy that felt real and relatable, but the movie never gets back to the magic of Rick and Danny jamming without expectations.
But when the movie shifts into stolen art territory it's hard for the audience to get invested when we know the song is stolen but every character in the movie doesn't care. Danny doesn't even remember stealing the song, which excuses a clear villain, and all of Rick's friends tell him he made it up. In pursuit of the truth Rick even starts to doubt that a song he's been working on for over a decade was even his to begin with! It's frustrating, and I think that was what John Carney was going for, just not in the way he intended. At the end of the day this is a feel-good story. I loved the characters and how their relationships are all tethered by a thin piece of thread.
The music is good, although the best way to describe how I feel about this movie is by its song, 'How to Write a Song Without You.' When doing a movie about genius' flexing their skills there's a safety net of not showing their art, because then you'd have to prove the fictional art everybody loves has to work in our reality too. The crux of this movie is about 'How to Write a Song Without You' being a number one song in the world and it has to be good enough to not only be believable but for us to listen to it over, and over, and over again throughout the movie. But I had trouble believing it was one of the greatest songs, a pivotal song that would change an entire person's career. Think of how 'Remember Me' is portrayed throughout the movie Coco. It's a good song, but it held meaning for the characters in different ways, so every time 'Remember Me' would be played it revealed another layer in story and a new emotional reaction from the audience. Power Ballad tries, but does not have that effect.
It's a good song.
This is a good movie.
I simply expected more.
