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Richard James Havis

4/5 stars
Revolving around the thorny topic of music rights, the latest light drama from Irish writer-director John Carney (Once) begins as an authentic take on life in the music business, only to morph into a feel-good fantasy. Although this stylistic shift is noticeable, Power Ballad’s lilting tone is so affecting that viewers are unlikely to mind.
Music star Nick Jonas, who is also an experienced actor, does much more than play himself, delivering a well-judged emotional performance as a former boy band star trying to prove his artistic worth.
Veteran light-comedy regular Paul Rudd anchors the film as his adversary, with a solid showing as a talented musician who gave up his dreams of music stardom for love and has no regrets – until he meets the younger star.


The refreshingly straightforward story, co-written by Carney and actor Peter McDonald, centres on Rick (Rudd), a former American rocker who abandoned his career to move to Ireland and get married. Having once written and performed power ballads in the style of Bryan Adams, he now happily ekes out a living playing pop covers in a wedding band.
At one such gig, Rick meets Danny (Jonas), an ambitious former boy band star who is trying to launch a solo career as a serious artist. The two musicians bond and end up drinking the night away in Danny’s studio, playing each other their songs and swapping songwriting tips.
Sometime later, Danny gets the serious hit he has been after – with an unrecorded song Rick played for him that night. What’s more, Danny has stolen the writing credit, cutting Rick out completely. Incensed, Rick leaves Ireland to confront Danny at his home in Los Angeles and get what he deserves.
As court cases involving Led Zeppelin and Ed Sheeran show, such claims usually involve litigation, expensive lawyers and musicologists. Sparing viewers this tedium, Carney flips the dial once Rick reaches LA, turning the plot into a personal battle between two musicians who both feel they have a valid claim to the hit song.

The filmmaker makes the complex mechanics of music rights palatable, entertaining viewers rather than lecturing them on copyright law. At its core, Danny claims the song is his because his production elevated it, but Rick counters that this is irrelevant because he wrote the lyrics and melody – and legally, he would be right.
The humour is gentle throughout, and ageing musicians will have a chuckle at the way Rick’s teenage daughter dismisses her dad’s power ballads as old-fashioned – until one of them is a big hit for Danny.
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This drama about the music industry, stardom and arguments over intellectual property is a fun story with solid performances from its leads


This drama about the music industry, stardom and arguments over intellectual property is a fun story with solid performances from its leads.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}This drama about the music industry, stardom and arguments over intellectual property is a fun story with solid performances from its leads

This drama about the music industry, stardom and arguments over intellectual property is a fun story with solid performances from its leads