Ep. 15: Power Ballad Review | Paul Rudd & Nick Jonas Deliver a Crowd-Pleasing Comedy

Miguel and Spenser review Power Ballad, the latest crowd-pleasing comedy starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas.

From its infectious energy and sharp humor to the chemistry between its leads, Power Ballad won us over with its big heart and undeniable charm. In this review, we discuss what makes the film work, why audiences are likely to embrace it, and how Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas help elevate the movie into one of the most entertaining experiences of the year.

Is Power Ballad the feel-good hit audiences have been waiting for?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments and don't forget to subscribe to The Cinephile Mind for more movie reviews, interviews, festival coverage, and awards season discussions.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Cinephile Mind. Today we have Miguel and myself, Spencer, to discuss the upcoming new comedy drama film starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas called Power Ballad. We've both gotten the opportunity to view this film in the past couple weeks. Myself actually got to attend a live QA with Paul and Nick and John Carney, the director, before we got to see a screening of the film. So that was a very cool experience. Got to get a little bit of insight into the filming of this and the background and the inspiration and all of that. So looking forward to discussing this one with you, Miguel.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Yeah. I first saw this at South By uh a couple of months ago, and I really loved it. So I'm very glad that it's getting great reviews right now. I'm glad you got to see it in advance and got to experience that QA. Was the director there as well? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

John Carney was there. So John Carney was there as well. Yeah. So he is a former musician, was in a band in Ireland. So music is always very central to the films that he makes. And obviously, that is center to the story in this film as well. He has a very unique and creative, fun way in interweaving music into storylines and making it a part of the experience.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

It now makes sense he's a musician as well. Because my favorite part of the movie itself is, well, my favorite parts of the movie are the quiet moments in the film where they highlight the creative process, you know, as he's writing and putting together a song. I'm sure he takes a lot of that from his personal experience.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Yeah, no doubt. I think I'm I'm right there with you. I mean, kind of the main scene that sticks out to me in my memory when I think back on watching this is that scene after the wedding where Paul Rudd's character and Nick Jonas are like in the hotel room together, just kind of having like a jam session. They're drinking, they're staying up late, they're talking about their creative process and making music and kind of jamming out together. And then that sort of blossoms into this moment, of course, where you know Paul Rudd starts, his character starts to kind of sing this melody and these words, and it you know, Nick Jonas's character really takes to it, uh, and starts to kind of they go back and forth with it, and then of course that kind of drives the storyline going forward. But for me, that was like a very fun, engaging, interesting scene.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

I agree. I really love that scene and how the movie just stays focused in that scene, and we're so used to like cutting from scene to scene, and I feel like we were there with them, like you know, as they were trying to find the right melody, it really feels like we were part of this like creative process.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

And then, of course, like the the main song that propels the story forward and is kind of central to everything is very much an earworm. Like, I I have found myself kind of like humming this song uh to myself the last few days. It's been very much stuck in my head. You know, it was kind of funny during the QA. The the moderator asked the group, you know, what their thoughts were on this potentially being like nominated for best song. And, you know, you know, Paul Reddit had a funny response to it about you know how that he was really putting the cart before the horse there and getting way ahead of talking about uh them potentially performing this at the Academy Awards. But but no, it's very much a yeah, no, it's uh it's always interesting when filmmakers can manage to. I'm fascinated by people who can write music specifically for a movie and you know it having a kind of a major cultural impact or like people walking away, that being a memorable part uh of the film, and this song very much hits that chord.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

Yes, it's fully integrated into the movie, and you hear parts of that song throughout the film. Yeah, I remember coming out of the screening at South by and I immediately tweeted, is it too early for this song to be the front runner for Net Series Oscars? It's not a song for everybody, I'm sure some people would find it cheesy, but yeah, for what it is and for what it's supposed to serve, which is this movie and certain moments in the film, it works. And you're right, I ended up actually loving it.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Yeah. No, it's very much an earworm and one that gets stuck in your head. Yeah, I'm curious what the the audience reaction was um when you saw this. I don't know like how many people were in attendance. I was in a decent-sized auditorium, so there was quite a few people there, and the I mean, the audience really seemed to love this movie. There were tons of laugh out loud moments, uh, but also there are the very human emotional moments uh that are quite impactful as well. And yeah, I'm just curious if that is representative of your experience in seeing this, or if like I don't know what the audience size was. Sometimes it's hard to tell with a smaller group, but for my experience here in New York, it was very, very positive reactions all around from the audience.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

I would say the same. It played at the Paramount Theater here in Austin, the entire theater just uh erupted in a pause after the movie, and you can just as you were watching it, I I know sometimes you just feel like when you're watching a movie that you're also in the same wavelength as the entire theater, and that's how I was feeling when I was watching it. Well, is it reckless to say that this is Paul Rudd's best performance today? Because Paul Rudd, as an actor, has always been accessible, very funny, very relatable. But here, he uses everything that's always worked for him and added a vulnerable side that we haven't seen displayed, you know, to this magnitude. And he's never been more endearing, I thought. We also see ourselves in his quest to be recognized for his creativity and his hard work and appreciated by his friends and family, especially after years of working in the industry and trying to make it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

I don't think that's crazy to say. Um, I mean, obviously he's been around for a long time, but he's always been someone who has he's always uh kind of a standout. I mean, he's always been funny, but you know, he has charm and charisma. And, you know, especially in this film, like you said, it's very he plays a very relatable character. And yeah, I think uh this was certainly, and they touched on it in the QA as well, a more of him stepping outside of his comfort zone. He is really singing in this movie, which has not been done before. And so, I mean, outside of the, you know, kind of goofy, you know, him singing and anchor man, like, you know, they talked about that at QA as well. But no, he's actually, you know, singing these songs, and that is obviously for someone who's not a professional singer, an extreme challenge when you have that added component on top of trying to act, especially carry some of the more emotional moments in this movie. Um, so yeah, I think uh I don't think it's crazy to say that it's his best performance, um, but something to think about.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

A lot of his memorable roles are either like a supporting character to you know delete. So yeah, it's definitely something that you know we didn't think about more. It's like, oh, okay, yes, I agree with my own statement.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

Yeah. Um, yeah, and then obviously there's Nick Jonas, who is playing somewhat kind of a version of himself, not as much of a stretch acting-wise, I think. But I had not really seen him act in anything, but uh, I thought he played this very well. He was very well suited for the role, and it was uh I think without that performance too, the movie wouldn't have worked as well. Like their dynamic between Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas's character worked very well, and I think they played their characters in a way that like really helped kind of elevate this movie. That I think without that performance, it's it's difficult to say if this would have been as uh impactful of a story.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

We needed somebody to be believable in that whole pop star persona, and he served the part well.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Yeah, I'm very interested to see how it does. Uh, because I think you know, we've certainly got uh a hit on our hands here. So I'm curious to see how you know the broader audiences receive it. But um, but yeah, I mean it's uh it's great, and it's one that I've been thinking about since I saw it earlier in the week. And of course, the the music in the movie is extremely well done. Yeah, what I one of the things I loved about this is the it's one of those films that's both dramatic, you know, it has these kind of heartfelt moments with Paul Rudd and his family and his daughter, but there is like several laugh out loud moments as well. And I think when it comes at the end of the movie, I don't know, it ends on to me on such a strong note that really brings that emotion that you felt throughout the film like to the forefront. And I don't know how your audience has reacted, but you could hear people crying at the end of this movie, like when the credits are playing. It was it was a very kind of emotional you know, climax there at the end of the movie.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

It's just such a heartwarming, perfect summer movie.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

For your consideration, Academy, how to write a song about you, best original song.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Yeah, I want to see Paul Rudd on the stage singing that the Academy Awards next March. I mean, if Bradley Cooper can get up there and do it, uh I have complete faith in Paul Rudd's ability to get up there.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

It would be entertaining for sure.

SPEAKER_00 9:45

Yeah. And so unexpected to think that we're gonna tell people that Paul Rudd is gonna be performing a nominated song at the Academy Awards. That would be hilarious and amazing.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Let's make it happen.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Let's do it. Go see it. Power ballad.