For lack of a better comparison, I’m reminded of an episode of California Dreams where Jake Sommers meets his musical inspiration. He gets to hang out with him and played an original song he wrote, then before knowing it, his idol stole the song from him and his idol tells him, “I’m no saint.” That stuck with me for years and it looks as if John Carney’s movie, Power Ballad, goes into a more in-depth, introspective angle with this similar concept.
In addition to Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, Power Ballad stars Peter McDonald, Marcella Plunkett, Havana Rose Liu, Jack Reynor, Rory Keenan, Keith McErlean, Paul Reid, Beth Fallon, and more. John Carney (Once, Sing Street, On the Edge) directs Power Ballad from a script by Peter McDonald. 30West fully financed and executive-produced the film. Lionsgate has just released a new trailer for the film.
The official description from Lionsgate reads:
From writer-director John Carney (Sing Street, Once), POWER BALLAD stars Paul Rudd as Rick, a past-his-prime wedding singer who meets fading boy-band star Danny (Nick Jonas) during a gig. The two bond over music and a late-night jam session. But when Danny turns one of Rick’s songs into the hit that reignites his career, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves, even if it means risking everything he cares about. The film had its World Premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival on March 1, 2026, and will make its North American Premiere at SXSW on March 14, 2026.
Power Ballad starts playing in theaters on June 5, 2026.
Our own Chris Bumbray got to see the film while attending the SXSW fest and he GLOWED about the movie. In his review, he said that “it’s a showstopping movie for Paul Rudd, who has one of the best roles of his career as Rick. Rudd is one of the most sympathetic, likeable leading men working, and the fact that he plays Rick as not necessarily vengeful—just bent on getting some kind of acknowledgment—is perfect. […] That’s really what you get in a Carney movie: a collection of people who represent the best parts of life rather than the worst. It’s this quality that always makes his movies feel like a breath of fresh air, and the SXSW audience I saw this with ate it up. Hopefully it does well enough that Carney can keep making these movies for a long time—he’s quietly becoming one of the best directors of our era.”