There’s no denying that Paul Rudd is great in a buddy comedy (see I Love You, Man, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and everybody’s favorite cringe comedy, Friendship), and Nick Jonas is obviously an appropriate choice to play a former boyband star, so right off the bat, Power Ballad seems to be hitting all the right notes. The musical dramedy is the latest from John Carney — whose work regularly explores the connections that can be made through music and songwriting — and critics are mostly charmed by the leads' chemistry and the emotions the movie evokes.
Paul Rudd stars as Rick Power, the lead singer of a wedding band who gave up his dreams of being a rock star to start a family, and Nick Jonas as Danny Wilson, a boyband veteran who’s struggling to go solo. The two form an instant musical connection, which sours after Rick realizes Danny stole a song from him that he’d been working on for years. Ian Freer of Empire gives it 4 out of 5 stars. saying the lead actors are a delight together in this big-hearted film. In his Power Ballad review, Freer writes:
It might not have the soul of Once or the exuberance of Sing Street, but Power Ballad sees Carney try something different. It is consistently funny … but it’s not out-and-out comedy. Carney is exploring more here than just laughs, tapping deeper and more earnestly into middle-age despair, youthful insecurities and thwarted aspirations. It’s a new palette that makes you wonder what a Carney film might look like if the guitar stayed firmly in its case.
Angie Han of THR agrees the chemistry between the two leads is “immediate and easy and warm.” John Carney hits every emotional note and provides an in-universe hit song that’s bound to get stuck in your head. The film — like a good pop song, Han says — is “a little bit familiar, a little bit unexpected and utterly, thrillingly satisfying.” Han’s review of Power Ballad reads:
The film’s real secret weapon might be its complete command of tone. Power Ballad is a comedy that pokes fun at Rick’s middle-aged dorkiness or Danny’s very L.A. excesses without reducing either to a caricature, and ribs the entertainment biz but takes the art seriously. … It’s [also] a drama about the dark price of ambition that sidesteps every cliché that seems to plague seemingly every other drama or biopic about the music industry.
Christian Zilko of IndieWire gives it a B, calling it a “charming” addition to John Carney’s resume, even if disbelief must be suspended for some aspects of the plot. It’s worth it for what the director gets from Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd. Zilko continues:
But even if the actual events connecting Rick and Danny are tough sells, the emotions powering both of their actions are as elegantly complex as anything Carney has written. Rather than take the easy way out, the film builds towards the mature realization that sometimes it’s OK to miss out on our material dreams if we replace them with something better along the way.
Power Ballad didn’t win over every critic, however. Simon Abrams of AV Club gives it a C-, saying it’s hard to tell what the movie is about, beyond its “wispy platitudes.” Paul Rudd carries the movie despite an engaged Nick Jonas, the critic says, but there’s not a lot of character development. Abrams writes:
Sadly, the latest musical effort from co-writer/director John Carney (Once, Sing Street) is weirdly bereft of memorable jokes since, for the most part, the characters that Rudd and Jonas play are too likable to be credibly desperate, obnoxious, funny, or, really, human. While Power Ballad is sometimes a good enough hang, especially during its opening half, its sitcom humor never rises to its stars’ level.
Kristy Puchko of Mashable agrees with other critics that Power Ballad is warm and silly with a big heart that will inspire many smiles and a few laughs, but it’s a far cry from the cinematic magic that John Carney has provided in the past. Puchko concludes:
The film's pace is meandering at best, swerving from moments of sentimentality to scenes of Rick’s impotent frustration, to comedy set-ups that are just never as funny as one might hope for a Paul Rudd movie. For a film that is centered on someone who is undeniably angry, Power Ballad is weirdly toothless. The aforementioned happy ending feels like a forgone conclusion, even if it’s not remotely earned by plotting or emotional flow.
Despite some critics wanting to dig a little deeper into the complicated relationship between our main characters, Power Ballad has struck a chord with those who caught an early showing, and it will premiere in wide release with a Certified Fresh 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Our own Sarah El-Mahmoud can attest to the positive feedback, as the movie brought out a variety of emotions when she saw it.
If you’re excited to see John Carney’s new movie or to experience Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas as musical frenemies, Power Ballad is in limited release now, going wide on Friday, June 5.
