If you weren’t a dad before seeing Power Ballad, you’d likely be transformed into one by the movie’s end—and this goes across gender, possibly even species. Steeped in parental ambivalence, mid-life questioning, and the primal urge to pick up a guitar (or at least have one on a stand somewhere in your house), this is in the running for the most dad movie ever. Paul Rudd—finally in his dad prime—plays Rick Power, lead singer in a Dublin wedding band. (Rudd capably does his own singing.) Rick came to Ireland in his youth, touring with his rising rock act, but gave that up after falling for an Irish fan (Marcella Plunkett) and having a daughter, who is now a teenager (Beth Fallon). Might a second chance at musical glory arrive when Rick plays a wedding and befriends a famous guest: pop icon Danny Wilson (played by Jonas brother Nick Jonas)? Power Ballad is co-written and directed by John Carney, whose Once was an original, unrepeatable musical gem, very nearly matched by the sweetly nostalgic Sing Street. Like Sing Street, Power Ballad nicely blends musical fantasy with reality. The opening sequence, for instance, comically captures the gap between the performance Rick thinks he’s giving and the one the wedding audience is receiving. Otherwise, this largely struggles with tone, whiplashing between broad Rudd comedy, something more interestingly, bitterly humorous, and serious adult drama. As for the music, written by Carney and Gary Clark, it mostly revolves around one song—“How to Write a Song”—that’s performed in one version or another about 37 times, to the point that I’ve been pummeled out of an opinion on it.
(6/10/2026)
