Paul Rudd And Nick Jonas’ New Music Movie Strikes A Chord With Strong Early Rotten Tomatoes Reviews

If you like your musical comedies starring people you never expected to see sharing a mic, this one might be worth keeping on your radar: Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas are teaming up in Power Ballad, and the early word is surprisingly good.

Early Buzz: Where It’s Playing and Who’s Talking

Power Ballad had its first screening at the Dublin International Film Festival back on March 1—random spot for a world premiere, but that’s how indie music films roll. Now it’s heading for its official U.S. release on May 29. Despite most audiences still waiting to see it, critics who caught it early are already chiming in, and the movie’s managed to snag an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes from 30 reviews. Not a guarantee of greatness, but it definitely beats the usual 'music biopic nobody asked for' score.

The Gist: What Critics Actually Thought

• Paul Rudd gets top marks for basically being Paul Rudd (in a good way). Sean Boelman at FandomWire said Rudd brings 'an effortless charm to his lead role'.
• Nick Jonas: Not Just a Jonas Brother Anymore? Boelman went so far as to call Jonas's performance 'likely one of the best in his career'. (Low bar? You decide.)
• Heart & Humor: Several critics pointed out the movie actually hits the sweet spot emotionally—Scott Menzel at We Live Entertainment called it 'a genuine crowd pleaser with real emotion, heart, and a phenomenal soundtrack'.
• More hopeful than Carney's usual work: Rachel Leishman at The Mary Sue highlighted the optimism and said the movie 'connects with the audience through music', and that it's a little sunnier than what you might expect from director John Carney.
• But not everyone’s impressed... Slant Magazine’s Chris Barsanti thought the film “merely hums when it should soar”—basically, he thinks Rudd and Jonas's onscreen chemistry never quite clicks and that the movie doesn't hit that magic moment you’re hoping for in a music movie.

'Power Ballad is a genuine crowd pleaser with real emotion, heart, and a phenomenal soundtrack.' – Scott Menzel, We Live Entertainment

The Team, The Cast, and the “Wait, Who Made This?” Details

Power Ballad comes from writer-director John Carney—the guy behind Once and Sing Street, which are both beloved for being the rare music movies that don’t make you want to rip your ears off. Carney wrote the script with Peter McDonald and co-produced with Anthony Bregman, Peter Cron, Rebecca O'Flanagan, and Robert Walpole. In addition to Rudd and Jonas, you’ll see Marcella Plunkett, Jack Reynor, and Havana Rose Liu doing their thing.

So, should you actually see it? If you like Carney’s heartfelt-but-funny style or just want to say you watched Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas jam together, maybe check it out on May 29. If you’re waiting for the crowd to start booing, you might be holding your breath for a while; the score on Rotten Tomatoes suggests that, for now, most critics are onboard.