Early in the film “Power Ballad,” a scene featuring Rick Power (Paul Rudd) and his bandmates foreshadows what’s to come. Power fronts a cover band known as The Bride and the Groove, and while the lads do a slow-motion hero walk at a wedding reception gig for a rich couple, AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)” is playing. As the band walks among the reception-goers, one lyric stands out:
Gettin’ old
Gettin’ grey
Gettin’ ripped off
Underpaid
Gettin’ sold
Second hand
That’s how it goes
Playin’ in a band
In a way, that’s the plot of “Power Ballad” — although, this being a movie, there’s more to it. For Rick Power and his band, the gig is the gig: play the hits at a party, flatter the married couple, and get the crowd dancing to tried-and-true songs that offend no one and appeal to nearly everyone at a wedding reception. Cover bands have done this for decades, and so have mobile DJs. It’s a job. It pays the bills. It’s also soul-sucking work for someone who dreams — or used to dream — of making it big, of singing hit songs to capacity crowds at Madison Square Garden. That, in a nutshell, is Rick Power: a 50-something American living in Ireland with his wife and teenage daughter. We learn early on that Rick was once signed to a label, but then he met his wife, took a year off to sort some things out, and returned to the business only to find himself dropped. Having traded his rock-star dreams for the practical life of providing for his family as the frontman of a cover band, he’s mostly at peace with his choice — even when he empties the dance floor at the end of a reception by playing a song no one remembers and, frankly, was never a hit.
At the rich couple’s reception, Rick meets a former boy band singer named Danny Wilson,* played by Nick Jonas. After some pleading by the groom, Danny joins Rick’s band on stage, singing the Stevie Wonder classic “I Wish.” Later that night, Rick and Danny end up in Danny’s room jamming on songs, talking about their careers, forming a good working bond, and helping each other with material they’ve written but are struggling with. Toward the end of the evening, Rick starts singing part of a ballad he’s been working on for decades. Danny is taken by how powerful the song is and makes some suggestions. The two part ways with a kind of bro hug, and it seems like a good experience for both (Danny even gives Rick his manager’s card and an expensive guitar). Danny leaves Ireland for L.A., and Rick goes back to his life. Six months later, Rick is at a mall buying soccer cleats for his daughter when he hears his song blaring from the overhead speakers.
The rest of the film is Rick trying to get a writing credit for the song. He searches his computer for a demo he swears was recorded, asks his family, his friends, and anyone else who knows him whether they remember him singing it, and no one can. Danny knows the song wasn’t entirely his, but he minimizes Rick’s role as a co-writer. When Danny’s manager asks how the song came about, Danny says he can’t quite remember. He notes that Rick was in the room when it was sung, but there were no witnesses, no demo with Rick’s voice on it–nothing pointing to his contribution. Without any evidence to the contrary, Danny takes sole credit for the song and rides the wave of success after its release.
The plot of “Power Ballad” isn’t novel in the least, but the details of the songwriting process, playing in a cover band, and even parts of the music business feel authentic. Credit writer-director John Carney (himself a musician who was, yes, in a band over three decades ago) for capturing these aspects of being a musician.
There’s been more than enough ink spilled on how brutal the music business is, but rarely has a film given a mass audience a glimpse like this. Sure, this is a fictional depiction, but it shows how fleeting fame can be. At one point, Danny’s manager tells him he badly needs a hit from the songs he’s demoed. If Danny doesn’t deliver, he’s looking at a future of eating live bugs on reality TV or joining a nostalgia tour to hawk his old boy-band hits. It’s that moment of desperation that leads Danny to steal Rick’s song and make it his own.
As I noted above, the plot of “Power Ballad” is far from original — but Rudd’s performance is very strong, as are those of several castmates. Of note are Peter McDonald (who plays Sandy, Rick’s loyal sidekick and lead guitarist) and Jack Reynor as Mac, Danny’s douchey but pragmatic manager. What about Nick Jonas? He’s okay — nothing stellar in his performance as Danny, but his presence is clearly calculated to appeal to those who grew up with the Jonas Brothers.
Overall, “Power Ballad” is a lot like the crowd-pleasing songs Rick plays at wedding receptions: formulaic, predictable, but ultimately joyful in its execution.
*If you’re of a certain age, you may remember the 1987 song “Mary’s Prayer” by the Scottish pop band Danny Wilson. It was written by Gary Clark, who also co-wrote many of the songs in “Power Ballad” with John Carney.
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