John Carney’s “Power Ballad” is a music-centered drama about a wedding band singer whose long-buried rock-star dreams collide with the realities of ordinary life and the commercial music industry. The film follows Rick, played by Paul Rudd, an American musician living in Dublin with his wife and teenage daughter. Rick once had hopes of success with a rock band called Octagon, but after giving up that path he now works nights fronting Bride and the Groove, a wedding band that plays crowd-pleasing hits like “September” and “Celebration” for guests who often see them as little more than human jukeboxes.
The story changes when Rick performs an original song at a wedding and imagines himself in a packed arena, only to return to an empty dance floor. At another event, the band reluctantly lets a guest singer join them, and he turns out to be Danny, played by Nick Jonas, a former boy-band star who impresses everyone with a strong performance of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish.” Rick initially dismisses Danny as a manufactured pop act, but after meeting him, the two bond over music and begin writing songs together. Their creative connection becomes the emotional center of the film, highlighting the excitement and spontaneity of making music collaboratively.
Carney, known for films such as “Once,” “Sing Street” and “Flora and Son,” has built a reputation for stories that treat music as a force capable of changing lives. “Power Ballad” begins in that familiar warm and hopeful spirit, but then shifts into a more conflicted story. The plot jumps ahead six months, and Rick is stunned to hear one of his unfinished songs, “How to Write a Song (Without You),” playing as a smash hit attributed to Danny. The song has been transformed into a commercial success, and Rick must decide how to respond to what he believes is theft.
The second half of the film focuses on Rick’s effort to prove the song is his, but he faces skepticism from his family and bandmates and cannot produce a recorded demo. In that struggle, the movie explores questions of authenticity, authorship and ambition in popular music. Danny is not portrayed as a simple villain; instead, he is shown as a performer under pressure from his label to deliver hits and as someone who reshapes the song with his own bridge and vocal style.
Jonas gives one of his strongest screen performances, while Rudd fits the role of a genial everyman trying to reclaim his artistic voice. The film ultimately reinforces Carney’s belief that sincere, soulful music can still break through, even in a commercial world that often rewards image over originality.
