Power Ballad Film Review: Carney’s B-Side

John Carney’s Power Ballad rides Paul Rudd’s charm and a catchy song, but a stiff Nick Jonas and flat production hold it back.

Carney has become a sort of Irish version of Nancy Meyers for working-class dreamers, swapping cashmere and cream-colored kitchens for pubs and rehearsal rooms but delivering the same precisely calibrated warmth. Power Ballad fits into that lineage comfortably, even if it never quite finds the gear his best films eventually shift into.

Paul Rudd (Friendship) plays Rick Power, an American transplant fronting a Dublin wedding band called The Bride and Groove. The gigs pay the bills, his marriage to Rachel (Marcella Plunkett, of Flora and Son) is steady, and his teenage daughter Aja (Beth Fallon, of Louise Lives Large) humors him about the pop stardom that slipped through his fingers fifteen years ago. Everything changes when a wedding reception brings him together with fading boy-band star Danny Wilson, (Nick Jonas, of The Good Half). They end up jamming until sunrise, sharing stories and bits of songs. Rick even shares a vulnerable ballad titled “How to Write a Song.” Weeks later, the song becomes a Top 40 hit, with Danny taking sole credit for the smash tune.

Pulled out of his usual ensemble safety net, dropped into a cast of Irish character actors he’s never worked with, Rudd is the reason to show up. Standing out because he can’t lean on familiar rhythms, his performance has a depth he doesn’t always get to show. There’s frustration, vanity, and tenderness braided together in Rick, and Rudd plays the whole knot. His scenes alongside Peter McDonald (The Batman), who co-wrote the script with Carney and plays bandmate Sandy, have the easy rhythm of two guys who’ve been razzing each other for years. McDonald keeps stealing scenes without grandstanding, and his honesty is one of the film’s great pleasures, which makes sense given he wrote half the lines.

The sore spot is Jonas. He has a smooth and pleasant voice, but the role required more emotional depth than he can provide. As the film pushes Danny into complicated moral territory, his limitations become more apparent, especially next to Jack Reynor (Cherry) as Danny’s ruthless manager Mac. Reynor brings real sincerity to his smaller role. I found myself wishing he had been cast as Danny instead. He has the voice for it and the ability to convey guilt more convincingly. Havana Rose Liu (Lurker) is introduced as Danny’s girlfriend Marcia, which would initially suggest her importance. However, her storyline is cut short, which is a recurring flaw in Carney’s writing: starting threads without completing them and beginning sentences he doesn’t finish.

The domestic side has its own wobbles. Plunkett never quite registers as Rick’s wife, and there’s not enough chemistry in the family unit to make Rick’s regret about what he’s “missed” land with full weight. Fallon takes a while to warm up but earns some of the film’s best moments as Aja in the back half, especially in scenes where music conveys emotions the script fails to express.

Perhaps the strangest takeaway is how humdrum Power Ballad turns out to be on a technical level. Carney has never made flashy films, but his work has always felt rooted in a specific time and place.  This one feels like it was shot on a soundstage with the windows shut. Yaron Orbach’s (Begin Again) cinematography is fine, Triona Lillis’s costumes are fine, Anna Carney’s production design is fine. Fine is the operative word. The cozy, hand-knit quality that marks Carney’s films has been replaced by a more polished feeling that lacks vibrancy. The original songs by Carney and Gary Clark are catchy, but you’ll either be happily humming “How to Write a Song” for days or avoiding any radio station that plays it too often. 

Still, there is enjoyment to be had here. Carney’s least impressive film would still be a standout for most directors. Power Ballad arrives at just the right time, coinciding with early summer when audiences crave something with genuine human stakes amidst the usual explosions. It’s not going to wreck you the way Once did or send you out of the theater air-drumming the way Sing Street did. Yet, after a slew of disappointing films and unwanted sequels this spring, a Carney project at three-quarters strength is still a welcome addition. Just don’t expect him to create the song that breaks your heart this time.

Power Ballad will be released in US theatres on June 5, 2026 and in UK & Irish cinemas on May 29.