By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
"POWER BALLAD" FINDS HARMONY BETWEEN COMEDY AND HEARTBREAK
Imagine you're a struggling musician, playing wedding receptions and any other paying gigs your band can find, when you meet a former boy-band star whose career has long since faded. You swap music stories, sing a few songs together, and even share a heartfelt tune you've written.
Six months later, you hear that very song on the radio in the mall and discover it has become a massive hit.
The once-forgotten star has used it to revive his career, but you receive neither credit nor compensation for the song you created. That's the irresistible premise behind
"Power Ballad," the new musical comedy-drama from writer-director
John Carney. ("Sing Street," "Once" and "Begin Again").
At first blush, "Power Ballad" appears to be a movie about a stolen song. It’s about something far more painful: stolen possibilities.
Rick Power (an excellent Paul Rudd, "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Anaconda") isn't chasing mansions, private jets, or a wall full of platinum records. He's a working American musician and lead singer in a Dublin-based wedding band called The Bride and Groove.
The guy once dreamed of playing in New York's Madison Square Garden, but now he's just trying to support his family while holding onto the simple belief that music should mean something. Rudd gives Rick an easygoing charm that makes him instantly likable, but he also captures the quiet heartbreak of a man forced to watch someone else live the life that could have been his.
The film's greatest strength is that it never turns Rick into a saint or Danny Wilson into a cartoon villain. Danny, played with swaggering confidence by Nick Jonas ("You're Cordially Invited" and "Love Again"), is equally charismatic, insecure, and opportunistic.
Jonas clearly relishes the role of a musician whose ego enters the room several minutes before he does. Danny wants artistic credibility so badly that when the perfect song falls into his lap, he convinces himself that borrowing it isn't quite stealing. Plus, his girlfriend Marcia (Havanna Rose, "Tuner") likes the song and thinks he should record it for his upcoming album, so there's that. It's a terrific performance from Jonas that allows the audience to understand Danny even when they don't agree with him.
The same can be said for Mac, Danny's manager/producer (Jack Reynor, "Lee Cronin's The Mummy"). Reynor adds another layer to the story by representing the machinery of the music business itself, a world where hit songs often matter more than who actually wrote them.
"Power Ballad" also resonates because of its emotional honesty. Filmmaker John Carney has always understood that music isn't just entertainment; it's memory, identity, and connection.
The song at the center of the story, "How to Write a Song (Without You)" isn't valuable because it becomes a hit. It's valuable because Rick wrote it for his daughter Aja (Beth Fallon, TV's Louise Lives Large"). That distinction gives the film its heart and prevents it from becoming just another show-business satire.
There are plenty of laughs along the way too in "Power Ballad." Watching Rick desperately try to convince people that a global smash belongs to him is both funny and frustrating. The audience knows he's telling the truth, while everyone else sees him as a bitter dreamer.
The film finds humor in the absurdity of fame while never losing sight of the genuine hurt beneath the jokes. There's also a funny scene involving Rick and his bandmate Sandy (Peter McDonald, TV's "Gone"), who head to Los Angeles to confront Danny and convince him to publicly admit he stole the song. They attend one of Danny's concerts and attempt--unsuccessfully--to sneak backstage, but eventually manage to slip into his house afterparty, where they finally confront him and things come to a head.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of "Power Ballad" is how often viewers will find themselves thinking about what Rick's life might have been like if Danny had simply done the right thing from the beginning. A songwriting credit. A royalty check. A little honesty. Any one of those things could have changed the trajectory of Rick's career and eased the financial pressures weighing on his supportive and easygoing wife Rachel (Marcella Plunkett, "Flora and Son"), and daughter Aja.
The movie continually reminds us that success and failure are often separated by talent, luck, and occasionally another person's bad decision.
Fortunately, "Power Ballad" avoids easy answers. Instead, it focuses on forgiveness, family, artistic integrity, and the complicated question of what recognition is really worth. By the time the film reaches its touching conclusion, it becomes less concerned with who owns a song and more interested in what truly defines a person's legacy.
With memorable music and standout performances, "Power Ballad" is a funny, heartwarming and occasionally bittersweet music comedy that seldom misses a beat.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Watch This Trailer For
"POWER BALLAD"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
