See Paul Rudd, as aging wedding singer, sing with Nick Jonas in new trailer
Aging isn’t a word we ever associate with hometown guy Paul Rudd. (We all know he’s found the elixir to eternal youth.) But that’s how he’s described in his new summer movie, “Power Ballad,” with Nick Jonas.
Rudd plays Rick, a wedding band musician. Jonas is a former boy-bander and teen idol named Danny.
“When Rick, a past-his-prime wedding singer, meets fading boy-band star Danny during a gig, the two bond over music and a late-night jam session,” says the movie’s official synopsis.
“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 trailer shows Rudd and Jonas noodling around with Rick’s song — Jonas on piano, Rudd on acoustic guitar.
As Screen Daily describes, Rick is an American musician who has lived in Ireland for more than a decade, “giving up his rock ‘n’ roll aspirations to settle down with his Irish wife Rachel (Marcella Plunkett) and raise their daughter Aja (Beth Fallon).
“He’s now the frontman of a wedding band but he has never stopped writing songs, even if his audiences only want him to play other people’s hits.
“At one event, Rick meets American wedding guest Danny (Jonas), who was in a popular boy band before flaming out as a solo act. Rick is initially skeptical that Danny is a true artist, but after a night of bonding and drinking, they form a real connection, sharing their frustrations about the challenges of the creative process.”
When the movie debuted at SXSW earlier this year, Variety noted that “Power Ballad” is “Rick’s story, and Paul Rudd, in a performance that hits the true note, holds the movie in the palm of his hand.
“He doesn’t overplay anything. He shows us how Rick is on some level flattered to have his song out there, and also devastated that no one on Earth knows it’s his.
“Rudd makes Rick a fully felt presence, a gifted musician with a dad-rock swagger who is suddenly lost in the angry despair of seeing his dream of pop success achieved, only now it’s a nightmare. Talk about a mix of emotions ...
“The movie ends with a Rosebud moment, and when it does, you may experience a shudder of happiness.”
The movie is directed by John Carney (”Once” and ”Sing Street”).
With its “two likeable leads,” writes Screen Daily, “this character-driven comedy could prove to be an effective counter programmer at the start of summer blockbuster season.”
Didn’t know that Rudd can sing? Then you didn’t see him and Jimmy Fallon, in 2019, remake Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record).”
“Power Ballad” will have a limited release on May 29, the same weekend as Big Slick Celebrity Weekend, before a wider opening on June 5.
Rudd is expected to be in Kansas City the weekend of May 29-30 for Big Slick, which he co-hosts every year with his famous Kansas City friends — Rob Riggle, Jason Sudeikis, David Koechner, Eric Stonestreet and Heidi Gardner.
This year’s event promises to be quite the circus.
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