THB #838: Power Ballad

So what’s biggest surprise of the summer for me so far? How much I enjoyed John Carney’s new film, Power Ballad.

I have never disliked a John Carney film… but I have never been fully onboard, starting 20 years ago with Once, which made feel the villain in some circles. Even though I liked the song… oh my God, I got sick of that song. I was okay with Begin Again, not a fan of Sing Street almost on principal, and Flora & Son didn’t make me think it should have had a theatrical.

But I had a really good time with Power Ballad. I’m kind of amazed that anyone over 40 or with a kid would not… but reading the few negative reviews, I got the sense that those who don’t like it LOVED his other films. What I didn’t love turned the switch for them. Fair enough.

The big premise for the film is right there in the trailer… famous young music star steals a song from a middle-aged guy who has never really made it and the song becomes a worldwide sensation.

But here’s the thing… what really works about the movie is that it isn’t that simple. The boy band singer, Danny, played by Nick Jonas, is no longer a hot commodity. When he and Paul Rudd’s Rick play together at a small wedding for Danny’s childhood friend, the movie shows someone who is famous, but is also needy and generous. When the duo hangs out and works on songs together for one night - the best sequence in the movie - it feels deeply sincere and considered for both men.

Rick goes back to his small life in Dublin with his wife and teen daughter, not without frustration, but okay with his life. When Danny goes back to L.A., he faces his recent history of rejection from the powers behind big fame and fortune (though he already has the big house and fast cars).

Danny has the looks and the voice, but he doesn’t have the song. His manager and his girlfriend are both lukewarm on his work to the point of losing what he had earned. Until Danny plays one of Rick’s songs for his girlfriend… and with that, unlocks a future beyond everything he’s been trying to recover from his boy band days.

Unfortunately, part of this is that Danny traps himself into telling the girlfriend, who might be The One, that the song, "How to Write a Song Without You," is about her.

If there is a flaw in the film, it’s that the movie can’t make up its mind - and there are clear rewrites on some sections - whether Danny is a real villain or not. He is very, very good and very, very bad. But that keeps things interesting. And the movie keeps pushing through that indecision regarding one character with the sincerity and clarity around the other lead character, Rudd’s Rick.

It is a movie cliche to see Rick as the underdog we root for. But Carney and his screenwriting partner Peter McDonald don’t just lean on that. They almost shove Rick through a midlife crisis in the ways the loss of his song, his potential, his future, and his identity drive him somewhat mad.

I’m not going to write a word about the 3rd act here. Like so much of the movie, some of the stuff that seems like it won’t work at all turns into an unexpected strength. The ending is really interesting and will make great dinner fodder… but you’ll have to discover it for yourself.

All I will say is this. Sometimes, you really want the obvious to happen. And when it doesn’t, it challenges us as an audience to reconsider our expectations. Which I really liked about this film.

In so many ways, this is an old fashioned movie. And I mean that in the most complimentary way. Good, quirky story well told. Laughs, tears, sincerity, things we can all identify with if we have some life under our belts.

The thing about Rudd here is that he isn’t just playing the most likable man in the world, which seems to be his nature. He is playing a really nice guy who can easily become a prickly pear. And then he can recover with us.

Another thing I realized in this movie is that I can’t really tell the difference between Jack Reynor and Leo Woodall… though both seem like interesting candidates for the next Bond. Woodall is in Tuner, which is another excellent movie for adults for 2 acts, before it kind of collapses on itself. (Also connecting the two movies is Havana Rose Liu, who is in both films.)

It’s unusual to have an adult movie (or two) worth your time in the middle of the summer. But I recommend this one highly. It’s a little silly, a little complicated, a little unexpected, a little heart breaking and making. It feeds the audience,

There are a lot of big rides at the movie carnival this summer. But there is something lovely about just going to the movies and being entertained by real characters who have real human experiences that we can identify with. And Power Ballad does that with a song in it heart.

Until tomorrow…