SPOILER: This column contains potential spoilers for “Power Ballad.”
Released the same day as major franchise projects like “Scary Movie” and “Masters of the Universe,” “Power Ballad” emerged with no intellectual property to bank on. With a comparatively small $10 million budget, this film shows that telling a compelling story doesn’t need blockbuster funding.
“Power Ballad” follows Rick Power (Paul Rudd), a middle-aged wedding band singer who once had dreams of being a major artist. At a wedding, Rick unexpectedly meets Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), a former boy-band member turned struggling solo artist, when the groom brings him on stage to perform a song. The two spend the rest of the night hanging out and playing music for each other, and Danny becomes particularly interested in Rick’s song, “How to Write a Song (Without You),” which he’s spent years trying to complete.
In a desperate attempt to ignite his failing career, Danny slightly alters Rick’s song, releasing it six months later as his own without permission. The song quickly becomes a major hit and when Rick hears it while out shopping, he’s shocked to learn that Danny went behind his back. So, he sets out to get the recognition he deserves, despite having no proof that he wrote it.
Rudd and Jonas were both perfectly cast, with Rudd bringing his familiar dad charm from family-oriented roles like Scott Lang in “Ant-Man” and Jonas drawing from his experience as a former member of the Jonas Brothers who later launched a solo career. These real-life experiences allowed the actors to seamlessly blend into their characters to the point where it seemed they were nearly playing themselves.
The duo also immediately showed strong on-screen chemistry. Their initial hangout after the wedding stood out to me, as Rick and Danny’s singing and shared laughs over their generational gap made their connection feel genuine.
But the film’s most impressive feat was its balance of laughter and sadness, which made the characters feel all the more real.
Though the film seems to start out light as Rick’s loved ones make jokes about the incident, the tone gradually darkens as Rick continues obsessing over the song. As his erratic behavior pushes his band and his wife away, a jobless and homeless Rick hits rock bottom, leaving him with nothing to lose as he flies to Los Angeles in a desperate final attempt to face Danny.
Since Rick and Danny’s only time on screen together before then is their initial hangout, it feels like the whole movie is building up to their final confrontation.
I expected the conversation to revolve around Rick demanding Danny pay him for stealing the song. Instead, he simply wants Danny to acknowledge that he actually wrote the track. This elevated the emotional depth of the scene tremendously, because anyone else in Rick’s financial situation would have ordered to be paid, while Rick needs to hear Danny’s admission of guilt for his own sanity.
During the entire face-off, I was on the edge of my seat, knowing Danny’s security would find them at any moment. The sense of urgency, combined with Rick’s emotional pleas, created a suffocating level of tension, and I enjoyed every second of it.
This scene conveyed such raw emotion from both actors, culminating in what I thought was Rudd giving a truly career-defining performance within his character’s development. Before seeing this movie, I’d never seen Rudd in a serious role, so I was truly impressed with his emotional range, as he balanced his character’s moments of joy, sadness and anger masterfully.
At the end of the film, Rick’s daughter discovers an old video from when she was a toddler, which features him playing the song in the background. Regardless of whether Rick pursues legal action, it was heartwarming to see that the song exists in a video of Rick doing what he loves most — being a father.
With frequent waves of laughter and moments that nearly brought me to tears, this film was truly an emotional roller coaster. I went into the theater expecting a cliché-filled dramedy, but I was blown away by the poignant story and remarkable performances from Rudd and Jonas.
