POWER BALLAD Review: Paul Rudd Needs a Break

As squishy as the dad rock it embraces, Power Ballad cements director John Carney's hold on dramedies of regret and second chances.

From its generic Irish settings to its overstuffed soundtrack, the film is determinedly middlebrow. That's not necessarily bad, but it's also not original.

Paul Rudd plays Rick Power, lead singer and guitarist in a wedding covers band called The Bride and Groove. Once the leader of his own group, the American Rick settled down in Ireland to raise his daughter Aja (Beth Fallon) with his long-suffering wife Rachel (Marcella Plunkett).

Rick's still haunted by dreams of the big time, even though his love songs tend to deflate wedding parties.

At a posh wedding staged in a castle, Rick meets Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), an erstwhile boy-band singer trying to establish a solo career. The two hit it off, singing a duet before the crowd and later noodling over song ideas in Danny's suite.

Rick's unfinished "How to Write a Song" impresses Danny so much that he claims it as his own when he sings it to girlfriend Marcia (Havana Rose Liu) back in Los Angeles. Helped by his manager Mac (Jack Reynor), Danny polishes the song into an international hit.

Rick's in a shopping mall when he first hears Danny's version. Unfortunately, he can't verify that the song is his, and Mac threatens legal action when he tries to contact Danny.

Rick's obsession over the song gets him kicked out of both the band and his house. At rock bottom, he turns to his guitarist and longtime friend Sandy (Peter McDonald) for help. They decide to confront Danny in person during his concert in Los Angeles.

Carney, who's been making movies like this for some 20 years, knows exactly what he's doing. He captures Rick's anger and despair, his jealousy and fear, without getting too bogged down in details of his misery. (Although Rudd's face is increasingly battered as the movie progresses.)

Power Ballad builds to a climax predicated on whether or not Danny Wilson has a conscience. Since this is a Carney film, it's easy to guess the answer. What's surprising is how sloppy the writing can be.

Characters are introduced and dropped, themes raised and ignored. The script glosses over the fact that Rick, a professional musician and songwriter for over 20 years, apparently never heard of copyrights and royalties.

Rudd treats Rick in his typically easygoing manner, bringing effortless professionalism to a character who doesn't really deserve it. Sadly, Rick is the only fully fleshed out role in the film, making the script's shortcuts and elisions all the more obvious.

Like he did in Begin Again and, to a lesser extent, Flora and Son, Carney dresses everything here in a feel-good glow. Danny's deceit and Mac's treachery are washed away with throwaway gags (like the band having to pull out reading glasses to watch a Tik Tok on Rick's phone). Conflicts are resolved magically. Somehow, Rudd still makes it as pleasant as a bag of Taytos.

The film is now playing in select theaters; it expands wide across North America on Friday, June 5, 2026, via Lionsgate. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.