{"id":33641,"date":"2026-06-05T16:47:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T23:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=33641"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T23:47:11","slug":"power-ballad-sings-a-charming-memorable-tune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=33641","title":{"rendered":"POWER BALLAD Sings a Charming, Memorable Tune"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Running Time: 99 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature from Lionsgate opens exclusively at theaters\non June 5th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Irish writer\/producer\/director John Carney has been making\nfilms in various genres for some time, but is perhaps most well-known for his\ntales about musicians. Most notably, this includes the 2007 Oscar-nominated \u201cOnce,\u201d\nand the wonderful \u201cSing Street,\u201d a period comedy about a group of inner-city\nDublin teens forming a rock band. The filmmaker\u2019s latest is \u201cPower Ballad,\u201d\nwhich features a famous name or two in the cast and a slightly grander story,\nbut is still a character study focused on two artists with careers that have\ngone in different directions, and an unexpected complication that occurs after\nthey meet by chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rick Power (Paul Rudd) is a guitarist and singer in a\nDublin-based wedding band called The Bride and Groove. As a young artist in the\n1980s, he had a minor-charting tune with his group, but quit after his\ngirlfriend Rachel (Marcella Plunkett) became pregnant. Years later, he plays\nchart-topping covers at various marriage ceremonies, while working on his own\ncompositions at home. During one show, friend of the groom and ex-boy band star\nDanny Wilson (Nick Jonas) joins the group on stage. Afterwards, he and Power\nhang out. They get drunk and share some of their song ideas. Six months later,\nPower hears Wilson performing his latest hit, which happens to be a song he\nplayed for the famous artist. The protagonist tries to get a hold of Wilson to\nfind out what happened, but is threatened with legal action by Wilson\u2019s agent,\nMac (Jack Reynor). Even worse, he can\u2019t find a copy of the tune. Rachel and\ndaughter Aja (Beth Fallon) are skeptical of his claims, as are Power\u2019s own\nbandmates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The approach is low-key, with early sections of the film\ndisplaying the at times tiring life of a wedding band, and the frustrations of\nan artist who feels like he\u2019s going through the motions (to the point where\nthose around him aren\u2019t even listening to his own musical creations). These\nbits are played for chuckles and the lead is good-natured about it, but there\nis a hint of bittersweetness about the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also fun to watch the thrill and excitement that Power\nexperiences after making a connection with a successful musician. While the\nscenes between the two are amusing, they aren\u2019t played in a broad, comedic\nmanner. And thanks to the work of the talented leads, the jam session doesn\u2019t\nfeel contrived, instead making for a more relatable and believable scenario\nthan one might anticipate as the two characters complaining\nabout songwriting troubles, while listening to each other\u2019s ideas, and\nincorporating suggestions into their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Admittedly, there wouldn\u2019t be much of a movie if conflict\ndidn\u2019t arise and it does, although it doesn\u2019t necessarily play out as one would\nexpect in a comedy. This is another plus, as humor leads to dramatic tension in\nPower\u2019s family life and with the band as the hit song continues to invade his\nlife, leading to outbursts. In fact, all of the characters in the story say\nthings in frustration that one wouldn\u2019t necessarily see in a Hollywood film.\nBut for those concerned that the film might become too serious, there are\nplenty of laughs, courtesy of the protagonist\u2019s relationship with bandmate\nSandy (Peter MacDonald), who decides to try and help him confront the famous,\nseemingly untouchable performer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It all climaxes with some observations about the different\nkinds of pressure artists face, as well as meanings and unexpected power that\ncan be attributed to a seemingly simple song. Additionally, the film does an\nexcellent job of revealing the unexpected sources of inspiration for an iconic\ntune. While the finale, as written, could have easily come across as overly\nsentimental, these final revelations are sensitively handled in such a way that\nthey feel charming rather than forced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, \u201cPower Ballad\u201d is a quiet but memorable melody\nthat grows on viewers as it progresses and deals with the trials of artists and\nthe problems sometimes faced when creating music. The tune sticks with you long\nafter the credits roll and marks another strong, music-themed effort from the\nmoviemaker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 99 minutes This feature from Lionsgate opens exclusively at theaters on June 5th. Irish writer\/producer\/director John Carney has been making films in various genres for some time, but is perhaps most well-known for his tales about musicians. Most notably, this includes the 2007 Oscar-nominated \u201cOnce,\u201d and the wonderful \u201cSing Street,\u201d a period comedy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[217,4660,6251,12473,14425,14805,15833,16307,16308,16309,16310,18682],"class_list":["post-33641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-217","tag-comedy","tag-drama","tag-lionsgate","tag-music","tag-nick-jonas","tag-paul-rudd","tag-power-ballad","tag-power-ballad-film-review","tag-power-ballad-movie-review","tag-power-ballad-review","tag-song"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33641\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}