Power Ballad

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour – "Power Ballad" (June 4, 2026)

Episode Overview

The Pop Culture Happy Hour crew—Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, and guest critic Kristen Meinzer—dive into John Carney’s new film Power Ballad, a music-driven dramedy starring Paul Rudd as Rick Power, a wedding singer with a musical past, and Nick Jonas as fading American pop star Danny Wilson. The conversation explores the film’s sharp insights on artistic validation, collaboration, authorship, and the song at the heart of the story—“How To Write a Song Without You.” The crew discusses the movie’s emotional resonance, the strength and limitations of its characters, and what makes this one of the most compelling music movies in years.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Film Premise and Setup

• Stephen Thompson [02:42] frames the story: Paul Rudd is Rick Power, a former would-be star, now frontman for an Irish wedding band. Rick's stalled career gets entwined with American pop star Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas) after a chance wedding gig. They collaborate, Rick shares an old song, and that song, “How To Write a Song Without You,” unexpectedly becomes a huge hit for Danny—leaving Rick out of the credits and royalties.

2. Artistic Validation & The Struggle for Credit

• Linda Holmes [04:15]:

  • Immediately enthusiastic ("I've been referring to this as the most Linda-coded movie of the year"), she highlights the film’s deeper meditation on the artist’s quest for validation:

    "So many of the indicators of having made something good, whether it's sales or reviews or public sentiment, are so unreliable. And so there's this tantalizing sense that maybe Rick has a chance to learn for good that he has made something good."

  • Linda suggests the film, intentionally or not, is an "anti-AI movie"—the true value of art is in the intention and love behind its creation ([06:20]):

    “What gives something life as a piece of art is that someone loved it and cared about it... in that sense, I think it's an anti-AI movie.”

• Kristen Meinzer [06:56]:

  • Kristen offers a slightly different read:

    "To me it was about the journey of art being beautiful and good on its own, and it doesn't have to be in a stadium for it to matter."

  • She emphasizes the importance of self-recognition over external validation, and wishes Rick would see worth in what he has, not just pursuit of fame.

3. Casting & Performances

• Both Linda and Kristen marvel at the chemistry between Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas.
• Kristen [08:05]:

  "I never thought I would be a Nick Jonas stan... I can see the charisma. I can see the talent. He is perfectly cast as the boy band guy going solo."

• Minor criticism arises around the underwritten female characters (Nick Jonas’s girlfriend and Rick’s wife), with calls for more dimensionality.

4. The Essential Song & Its Impact

• Stephen [09:49]: Names the central song as “the thing that works so beautifully about this film":

  “If this song does not work brilliantly as a perfectly plausible comeback hit for a former boy band star, the movie falls apart. And the song works beautifully.”

• The trio sings praises for “How To Write a Song Without You,” predicting it’ll be an Oscar contender and observing its effectiveness as both a plot device and emotional core ([11:06]):

  “You hum this song not only as you're walking out of the theater, but for days after seeing this movie.”

• Comparison is made to great movie songs like Adam Schlesinger’s “That Thing You Do” and “Way Back Into Love,” praising its believability and adaptability in the film.

• Kristen [14:45]:

  “This song is performed in such a variety of ways in this movie, which really made me feel like I couldn't get sick of it.”

5. Collaboration, Authorship & Moral Nuance

• The hosts appreciate the film's refusal to make Danny a villain:
  • Linda [13:36]:

    “Danny's not a villain. He's done something really bad... But he's not a villain. You can understand how he got there.”

  • Both collaborators—and their partnership—are shown with empathy and shades of grey.

6. Realism About the Music World

• The movie balances the dreams of stadium fame with the everyday world of working musicians.
• Linda [18:35]:

  “I don't think there's any suggestion here that he is somebody who... is gonna go off and write a string of 25 great pop hits... This is his great song.”

• There’s admiration for the pragmatic take on what being a musician is actually like—sometimes you’re a “human jukebox” ([19:25]).

7. Thematic Complexity: Validation, Satisfaction & the Artist's Journey

• The group agrees that the film’s richness lies in acknowledgments of different, even contradictory, desires of creative people: a need for credit, the wish for connection, the day-to-day grind, and acceptance.
• Linda [20:24]:

  “It's okay to want to make a living. It's okay to want credit. It's okay to want the adulation of a room full of people singing your song. All of those things are normal and fine and good and you don't always get them, but it's okay to want them.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Linda Holmes, on artistic validation ([04:15]):

  "What I have come away with about this is... how hard it is to convince yourself that you have made something good."

• Stephen Thompson, on the central song ([11:06]):

  “If this is not at the center of the conversation for best original song at next year's Oscars, there is something wrong.”

• Kristen Meinzer, on Nick Jonas ([08:05]):

  “He is perfectly cast as the boy band guy going solo in this movie... wanting to throw their underpants at him.”

• Kristen Meinzer, on the critical take ([14:31]):

  “I'm sorry, but I was like, please may I never hear this song again for the rest of my life.” (about a song from Once, leading to playful banter)

• Linda Holmes, on what the film gets right ([20:24]):

  “It's okay to want to make a living. It's okay to want credit... You don't always get them, but it's okay to want them.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:42: Introduction of the film’s setup and characters
• 04:15 – 06:20: Linda’s analysis on creative validation and “anti-AI” art
• 06:56 – 09:19: Kristen’s perspective on artistic worth, character strengths, and gender critique
• 09:49 – 11:06: Discussion of “How To Write a Song Without You” as a believable hit
• 13:36 – 14:45: Moral complexity in character actions; reflections on collaboration
• 15:20 – 16:04: Comparisons to Adam Schlesinger’s film songs
• 18:35 – 20:24: Realities of working musicianship and satisfaction
• 20:24 – 21:26: Summing up themes on desire, satisfaction, and the artist’s journey
• 21:26: Recommendations: “See this movie!”

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Overall Recommendation

All three critics enthusiastically recommend Power Ballad, praising its heart, humor, nuanced view of creative life, and the instantly classic central song. The movie’s insight into the joys and frustrations of making art, combined with winning performances and sharply observed music industry realities, makes it a must-watch—whether you’re a pop music fan or lover of great character-driven drama.

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Episode hosted by Linda Holmes and Stephen Thompson, with guest Kristen Meinzer. Produced by Hafsa Fathoma and Mike Katsif. Edited by Jessica Reedy. Theme music by Hello, Command.

Transcript

[Podcast Sponsor/Announcer]

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[Stephen Thompson]

The director John Carney makes movies about music, from the thrill of performing it to the collaborations and chemistry that go into creat. His filmography includes Sing street and Once, which won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

[Linda Holmes]

Carney's new movie is Power Ballad, which stars Paul Rudd as a wedding singer and Nick Jonas as a pop star whose career gets an unlikely boost. And I'm just gonna say up front that I love this movie. I'm Linda Holmes.

[Stephen Thompson]

And I'm Stephen Thompson. Today we are talking about Power Ballad on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR Foreign

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[Stephen Thompson]

culture critic Kristen Meinzer. Hey Kristen.

[Kristen Meinzer]

Hi guys. How are you doing?

[Stephen Thompson]

Great. Glad to have you here. So Power Ballad stars Paul Rudd as Rick Power, the frontman of an Irish wedding band called the Bride and Groove. Rick once had A record deal. But his career never took off, and his life took a different turn when he fell in love with a woman in Ireland and started a family with her there. While performing at a wedding, Rick meets an American pop star named Danny Wilson. He's played by Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. Danny used to be in a boy band, and his career seems to be on the downswing. After the wedding, he and Rick meet, bond, hang out, get drunk, and work on a few songs together. And along the way, Rick plays Danny a song he'd written years earlier. How to write a song without you should keep the how to write a

[Linda Holmes]

song going every time. Write a song without you.

[Stephen Thompson]

Cause every song I ever wrote in

[Linda Holmes]

my life

[Stephen Thompson]

is about you. They part ways on joyous terms, and Rick goes about his life. Until one day he hears how to write a song without you and learns that the song has reignited Danny's career. It's every and Danny's everywhere, but Rick has been denied creative credit and songwriting royalties. Worst of all, Rick has no proof that it was ever his song. Power ballad is in theaters now. Linda, I'm gonna start with you. We kind of teased it up front. What did you think of this movie?

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, I've been referring to this as the most Linda coded movie of the year. And I think, you know, it's love of music, the presence of Paul Rudd, who's one of my favorite actors. There are a bunch of things about this that make it really very much for me. But I really think the more I have thought about and sat with this film, the more I feel like I have understood what it is about. Because one thing that's interesting, you know, you talked in the intro about Carney having made these really great films about creative collaboration and understanding between musicians. And this, of course, is really an example of that kind of turning bad. Right, For Rick in the sense that this night that he spends jamming with Danny becomes this nightmare. So it's kind of interesting to think so. Why is John Carney making a movie that is about credit and money and the pain of not getting credit and money, when his whole thing has always been the joy and the beauty of creating something wonderful right, for its own sake? And what I have come away with about this is that I think this is a very good film about how important it is to creative people, to artists, to make something good and how hard it is to convince yourself that you have made something good. Because so many of the indicators of having made something good, whether it's sales or reviews or public Sentiment are so unreliable. And so there's this tantalizing sense that maybe Rick has a chance to learn for good that he has made something good. He has made a good song and he's being denied that feedback loop of you have done well, you have created something beautiful. And he's trying to figure out how to live with that experience. But I think it's a movie about wanting to make beautiful things in a very personal way. And in that sense, and we can talk more about this later or not. I think it's an anti AI movie, maybe accidentally.

[Stephen Thompson]

I think all good things are inadvertently anti AI.

[Linda Holmes]

But here's the thing. I think it's a film about the fact that what gives something life as a piece of art is that someone loved it and cared about it. And that theme comes up in this film a couple times. And in that sense, I think it's an anti AI movie. So I both greatly enjoyed this movie but I also think it has a bunch of really interesting things to say.

[Stephen Thompson]

Nice. So you are pro power ballad.

[Linda Holmes]

I really loved it.

[Kristen Meinzer]

I did

[Stephen Thompson]

Holmesy. I got to sit next to you. Watching this film and feeling your love made me love it that much more. We'll get to my thoughts in a second. Kristen, I'm dying to hear. What did you think of the movie?

[Kristen Meinzer]

Well, first of all, I gotta say, Linda, I think you and I saw two different movies because even though I am also pro power ballad, to me it wasn't about art becoming art because people love it. To me it was about the journey of art being beautiful and good on its own and it doesn't have to be in a stadium for it to matter.

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, I think that's true too because

[Kristen Meinzer]

I feel like that's what the whole thing is like. Paul Ruddy, all he wants is to be playing Madison Square Garden and to me that's not a worthy goal. That doesn't make me want to cheer for him. What makes me want to cheer for him is I want him to get the credit that he justly deserves and I want him to appreciate what he has. And to me that's really what the story is about. And the same thing with Nick Jonas character about being able to appreciate what he has, including his limitations and give credit to those who maybe can help him do better. But that journey to me made the movie interesting because I think often, oftentimes movies about music are about that fame, about that recognition or on the flip side, it's worthy. Even though I live in a rat infested one room studio with Eight other roommates and so on. And this kind of talks about both sides of those things. Right? So I really appreciate that. But I also want to say I really, in particular enjoyed Nick Jonas in this movie. I never thought I would be a Nick Jonas, Stan. Like, I was watching this, I thought, my God, I can see why he's a platinum. I can see the charisma. I can see the talent. He is perfectly cast as the boy band guy going solo in this movie. And I can see why everybody's going wild and wanting to throw their underpants at him. He's fantastic in this movie. And he and Paul Rudd play off of each other so well. I just loved how they played off of each other. The only minor criticism I have in this is I wish the two female romantic partners were just a little tiny more developed. Like Nick Jonas girlfriend Marsha. I wish there was more to her than what was there. And I wish that Paul Rudd's wife was more than the perfect wife, because she is 100% perfect all the time and does always the right thing. So I kind of wish that there was just a little bit more to each of those characters. Didn't have to be, like, an extra 20 minutes added to the movie. Maybe just like an extra, like, one or two minutes with each of them, I think would have done wonders for their characters, even though I know the movie's not really about those characters.

[Linda Holmes]

It's interesting because when we came out of the movie, one of the things I said to Steven was that Dani's girlfriend, who is played by Havana Rose Liu, who's a really good actor who's also in Tuner, a movie that's out right now that I really like, she's done some other stuff, is really barely in the movie. She, I would say, has kind of one scene, and it's hard for me to imagine that that was the original vision of this character. I can't imagine there wasn't more in it about her originally, and it, you know, presumably got edited for whatever reason.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, I agree almost entirely with everything both of you have said, but I'm surprised we've kind of gotten as far into this conversation as we have without talking about what, for me, is the central thing that works so beautifully about this film and a thing that if it didn't work as beautifully as it does, the film falls apart. Which is the central song.

[Kristen Meinzer]

Yes.

[Stephen Thompson]

The song at the center of this movie, how to Write a Song without yout, which, as we see in the film, it was originally kind of written by the Rick character, but it's not 100% complete. And Danny kind of comes in. You know, you get all this collaboration around this song, but then we see the song become the catalyzing source of conflict in the film, in part because it has become this gigantic, massive pop hit. And if this song does not work brilliantly as a perfectly plausible comeback hit for a former boy band star, the movie falls apart, and the song works beautifully. How to write a song without you how to write a song without you

[Linda Holmes]

when every song I ever wrote in my life,

[Stephen Thompson]

if this is not it, at the center of the conversation for best original song at next year's Oscars, there is something wrong. Because this song does everything it is supposed to accomplish. You hum this song not only as you're walking out of the theater, but you hum this song for days after seeing this movie. You totally understand how this song becomes a staple at weddings. You understand how people are holding their phones aloft at concerts to simulate lighters, like it pulls off everything it's supposed to accomplish. And I think it's. That is so important. The fact that John Carney not only makes movies about music, but makes movies about music from the perspective of someone who understands it is so, so important and has been such a key to why he has so effectively made so many good movies about music. I loved this movie, and I share with Linda a general love and appreciation of Paul Rudd and just the vibes that he brings to everything he does. And I share Kristen's appreciation of Nick Jonas and what he brings to. Obviously, this film is going to mirror some of Nick Jonas own career beats.

[Linda Holmes]

Maybe Danny should become an actor.

[Stephen Thompson]

He does a really terrific job. And you understand how part of what can make collaboration alchemic is when two collaborators not only have compatible strengths, but when they have compatible weaknesses that the other person is there to address that. Danny's character, he is a great pop singer. When he sings alongside Paul Rudd at the beginning of this movie, you understand why he is head and shoulders more charismatic, a stronger singer, why he would be a pop star and Paul Rudd isn't. But when they're collaborating as songwriters, you understand that Paul Rudd's character has instincts that Danny's character doesn't necessarily have. These two guys need each other for this song to take off the way that it does. And I love the way this movie understands that and gives these characters room to have these strengths and weaknesses and how that forms a central conflict that is extremely understandable without you viewing either of these guys as monsters or villains.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, Danny's not a villain. He's done something really bad. Right. He's done something that I think most creative people would consider really bad. But he's not a villain. You can understand how he got there,

[Kristen Meinzer]

but he also does feel some remorse too. He's not just like just the supervillain who's like, but it's mine now. Ha, ha. He questions himself and he questions himself artistically. He questions himself as what kind of person am I? And I think that both of the characters do that throughout the movie where they're not just 100%, like, I'm on the right side of things. There are moments where they're like, am I being motivated by the wrong thing here? Maybe I just wanna be noticed. Or, you know, in their own way. And one thing to go back to what you were saying, Stephen, about the song, I've gotta give it to John Carney and Gary Clark, who wrote this song, for making a song that I didn't get sick of, which wasn't the case with Once.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, my gosh, Kristen, what is this blasphemy?

[Kristen Meinzer]

I'm sorry, but I was like, please may I never hear this song again for the rest of my life. Help me.

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, Kristen and Steven are gonna have a fist fight over the Internet.

[Stephen Thompson]

Kristen, these are fighting words. That is one of my favorite songs of all time.

[Kristen Meinzer]

Okay, but how to write a song without you? They did such a good job. This song is performed in such a variety of ways in this movie, which really made me feel like I couldn't get sick of it. If I'm going to hear this version as a duet and this version in Madison Square Garden, and the fact that we hear it in so many different ways, I think changes the song and yet still sticks with us. And the other thing the song does, not in a Netflix dating show way, but it reflects the story back at us. What the lyrics in the song are saying.

[Linda Holmes]

Sure. Oh, of course.

[Kristen Meinzer]

It still reflects the story without telling the story.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah. You know, I think when you talk about the song, I would compare this to two songs that were written by Adam Schlesinger, who died a few years ago from COVID and who was in Fountains of Wayne and also became a great songwriter for television and film. Wrote a lot for Crazy Ex Girlfriend and a lot of other things, but he wrote that thing you do so good.

[Kristen Meinzer]

So good.

[Linda Holmes]

Which is a brilliant song that I still.

[Stephen Thompson]

One of the best movie songs ever.

[Kristen Meinzer]

So believable as a hit.

[Linda Holmes]

So believable that I still listen to, but also a less well known song which is called Way Back Into Love from music and lyrics.

[Kristen Meinzer]

Yes. Oh, my God, I'm so glad you brought that up, Linda. I was thinking about that when we'll be watching this one.

[Linda Holmes]

And those are both Adam Schlesinger songs. And in both of those cases, the film needs the song to be. I mean, it has to be a good enough song that you have that you want to listen to it. Right. But it also has to be a song that essentially, like an actor, is well cast. It has to be a song that can play the role in the film that it's supposed to play.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yes.

[Linda Holmes]

I have a friend who's a music critic, my friend Mark Hirsch, who I played this song, how to Write a Song without you for him. And I said, I think this is a plausible hit. What do you think? And he said, yes, but more like a hit from the 2000 and tens and the 2000 twenties, which I thought was so interesting because the backstory of the song will tell you it was not written just recently. This is a song that Paul Rudd has been working on, that Rick has been working on for a long time. So, yes, it's more of a pop song of the 2010s. That makes sense.

[Kristen Meinzer]

Yes.

[Stephen Thompson]

Right. I mean, it's slightly Jonas Brothers coded, slightly one Republic coded. It does sound like a blockbuster hit in 2015. And I think that is an absolutely apt reading of that song and part of, I think, why it works so well. The other thing I wanted to get at about this movie that I think it captures so beautifully the way the best movies about music do, is I really think this movie gives us several different perspectives on what live performance feels like and what live performance by a really good wedding band feels like. Us. What really good live performance in a stadium feels like, and what the strengths and limitations of each of those experiences are. How you can be performing in a stadium and get massive torrents of feedback, but have it still feel alienating. How you can be in a room full of sweaty people who are like really feeling what you're doing. But also if you play kind of one wrong song or one wrong note, like, kind of all the energy drops out of the room. This film, to me, really understood.

[Kristen Meinzer]

What's really interesting is because of the hit song at the center of this being what everybody wants to hear. We also see how people react when the songs are mediocre, which I think is great because, let's be real, some of the music that is presented, that is Nick Jonas character's music when he's not collaborating with Paul Rudd or Paul Rudd's music when he's not collaborating with Nick Jonas. It's so perfectly written as mediocre music.

[Linda Holmes]

And I don't think one of the things I really admire about the way they approach Rick and his character and what his talents are is I don't think there's any suggestion here that he is somebody who you know is gonna go off and write a string of 25 great pop hits. I think you can watch this movie and think this is his great song, right? And it's so important to him to be able to have. Ownership is a weird word, but like to be able to have connection publicly and have an artistic legacy and to be able to say I wrote that song and to be able to tell his wife and his daughter I wrote that song. And I very much like the fact Stephen and I talked about this too. I very much like the fact. There's a moment early on when Paul Rudd with the Wedding Band wants to play some of his original songs. Not this one, but some of his original songs. And one of his bandmates is sort of like, listen, people at weddings don't want to hear your original songs. You are, he says, a human jukebox. They want to hear songs they know that's what weddings are for. And it kind of can sound cynical. Like I half expected at some point in this movie for it to be like, no, you should play your original songs at weddings and put em out there for people. Cause what really matters is your creativity. But this movie never attempts to tell you that that wedding band guy is wrong about what you should play at weddings. Because it lives in a reality of what it is to be a working musician, which is that this setting may call for one thing and this setting may call for something else. You, Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas are both actors I would refer to as charismatic presences in this movie, but in really different ways.

[Stephen Thompson]

Totally.

[Linda Holmes]

The thing that makes me love this film is that I think it appreciates a lot of different things about being creative. It's okay to want to make a living. It's okay to want credit. It's okay to want the adulation of a room full of people singing your song. All of those things are normal and fine and good and you don't always get them, but it's okay to want them. I like the way it tries to sort through all that stuff. And even though I started off saying what I thought the film was about, I completely agree with Kristen's take on what it's about. Also, in terms of that it's not really about playing stadiums, or at least it has to be about more than playing stadiums, partly because a vanishingly tiny percentage of musicians will ever play stadium. If you're never gonna be happy unless you play stadiums, the odds are you're setting yourself up to be miserable and to feel like a failure, which isn't fair to yourself and your own talent. So anyway, boy, I liked this movie a lot.

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, I think it's safe to say that all three of us recommend that you see this movie, see it in theaters, see it on streaming, come back to it again and again. Just loved it. That brings us to the end of our show. Kristen Meinzer, Linda Holmes, thanks so much for being here.

[Linda Holmes]

Thank you, thank you. I love to see something I like.

[Stephen Thompson]

Also, just a reminder that signing up for Pop Culture Happy Hour plus is a great way to support our show and public radio. And you get to listen to all of our episodes sponsor free. So please go find out more at plus.npr.org happyaur or visit the link in our show. Notes this Episode this episode was produced by Hafsa Fathoma and Mike Katsif and edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reedy. Hello, Command provides our theme music, which you will also be humming for days. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr. I'm Stephen Thompson and we will see you all next time.

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[Kristen Meinzer]

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[Stephen Thompson]

Who?

[Kristen Meinzer]

How? Why? Now? If the culture's asking it, we're talking about it at npr. We stand for your right to be curious and indulge your cultural curiosity. Follow It's Been a Minute wherever you get your podcasts and we'll break down the zeitgeisty topics that are filling your feedback.