‘Power Ballad’ and the Bizarre Gap in Paul Rudd’s Filmography

Most actors would rightly envy Paul Rudd’s career. He’s been a consistent presence in movies and TV shows for over thirty years, and his work covers beloved comedies like Anchorman, acclaimed classics like Clueless, and blockbusters like Avengers: Endgame. He’s also never seemed particularly weighted down by his stardom, taking the liberty to play delightfully weird bits like his running Mac & Me joke on Conan or this Tim and Eric sketch.

And yet in his latest film, John Carney’s lovely Power Ballad, as well as his previous movie, Anaconda, Rudd plays a guy who never made it. In Power Ballad, he’s Rick Power, a wedding singer in Ireland who keeps plugging away at original tunes. One night after a gig, he’s jamming with Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), a former boy band star looking to break into a solo career. Danny, desperate for a hit, takes one of Rick’s songs without permission, and Rick, with no way to prove that the song is his, becomes haunted by the song’s success. It plays as a constant reminder of the widespread acclaim he never received and will likely never get.

Paul Rudd doesn’t have that problem, but thinking about his career, there is one strange element that’s oddly missing: auteur filmmakers. For a reason I cannot explain, the biggest directors haven’t sought out Rudd despite his eclectic work and range. 

I suppose the argument would go that Rudd is primarily known for comedy, and therefore serious dramatic directors can’t see him in their movies. But that hasn’t stopped directors like Paul Thomas Anderson or Bennett Miller from pursuing Adam Sandler or Steve Carell, respectively, for dramatic projects. Moreover, it’s not like Rudd came up specifically through the comedy world like Saturday Night Live or stand-up. He’s just done a bunch of funny movies and been fine playing a supporting role in comedy classics. 

There may be the possibility that auteur directors don’t know that Rudd has range, seeing him more as a handsome, goofy guy rather than someone who can do drama. But Power Ballad is the latest work that dispels that notion. Yes, the film allows him to be funny, but it also leans on his maturity and pathos, letting us see a guy who's torn between the life he wanted as a young man and the life he leads now as a father and husband who can’t fully move past his dreams of rock glory. When the film hits its cathartic climax, it’s Rudd selling the fullness of the character and reminding audiences can do more than “Slappin da bass” and Sex Panther.

Moreover, this dramatic turn isn’t some anomaly or recent change-up by Rudd. He’s terrific as the naïve and wounded Adam in 2003’s The Shape of Things. He is steadfast, reliable support in the coming-of-age drama The Perks of Being a Wallflower. And he’s straight-up unnerving and horrifying as a villain in Duncan Jones’ sci-fi noir Mute. It would be one thing to claim that Rudd can only do comedy or that he’s just a pretty face, but his body of work disproves that argument. 

Perhaps the larger issue is that Rudd is now in the marketplace where so many actors find themselves, where stardom isn’t the currency it once was. Even the biggest auteurs have limited options. Martin Scorsese needs Leonardo DiCaprio. Christopher Nolan needs Matt Damon and/or a massive cast filled with stars. The economy is what it is, and Rudd is a name, but not enough of a name, or one too associated with comedy to shift him into a more dramatic-facing role. There may be auteurs who want him, but studios feel like they need a more famous guy. Even the Marvel movies, his biggest pictures, kind of poke fun at this idea, as people don’t really know who Ant-Man is.

Looking at his film choices and public persona, I suspect this gap in his filmography concerns me more than it does Rudd. Again, the guy seems to be doing more than fine, and I don’t think he sits by his phone wondering if Soderbergh or Gerwig is going to call. But I do think on the other side of that equation, major directors are missing out by overlooking Rudd. Audiences embrace reliable, consistent movie stars, especially those who are endearingly quirky. No one will walk out of Power Ballad thinking they could only see Brian Fantana or Scott Lang. They’ll walk out glad that, unlike his character, Rudd has been professionally successful since his 20s, and we’ve been the beneficiary of so many great performances. 

Power Ballad opens in theaters on June 5^th.

What I’m Watching

My wife and I are almost caught up on The Pitt, and the show certainly lives up to the hype. It’s certainly in the medical soap opera realm, but it endeavors to try and depict reality, or at least convey a sense of realism, particularly through the cinematography (it’s been noted by others how the show uses focal lengths that closely match what the human eye normally observes, and produces almost no shots that couldn’t be captured by a person at eye-level). There are times where its commentary on current events feels a bit leaden, but hey, if a hit show can draw attention to how ICE detentions and Medicaid/Medicare cuts hurt everyone, then I’m not going to complain.

Over in new trailers, A24 dropped the teaser for Primetime, which stars Robert Pattinson as To Catch a Predator’s Chris Hansen. This looks good, but I also hope it encourages people to check out the terrific documentary Predators.

Marvel also released the first trailer for the new season of X-Men ’97. I loved season one, but its showrunner, Beau DeMayo, was dismissed following an internal investigation involving misconduct. The allegations were serious enough that DeMayo was fired before the acclaimed first season even aired, and while DeMayo has fired back on social media, Disney has felt justified enough in their findings to strip his credit from the second season, even though he worked on the scripts. 

This is all to say that while I don’t think DeMayo should have continued in his role if the allegations against him are true, it does leave me wondering how his absence will affect the show’s second season.

What I’m Reading

As I prepare to see The Odyssey, I’ve decided to read the Homeric epics, and earlier this week I finished The Iliad. In retrospect, it’s a little funny Hollywood tried to adapt that one, considering that, while it does have universal and timeless themes like the loss of loved ones to the brutality of war, in Homer’s world, war is work. You go, you win glory, and/or you die. It doesn’t fit with our anti-war sensibilities or how we conceive of a hero. It’s still beautifully written and thoughtfully constructed, but a crowd-pleasing piece of escapism, not so much.

I’m now continuing my Vonnegut project as I read Deadeye Dick (his 10^th of 14 novels), and then I’ll pick up The Odyssey, so I should have that finished before Nolan’s adaptation arrives on July 17^th.

Also, since this is apparently a Paul Rudd Fan Blog now, I’ll direct you to my pal Mike Ryan’s great interview with Rudd, where the actor learns he killed off the slasher Michael Myers.

What I’m Hearing

I am hearing myself. I recently did a radio hit with The Morning X on Atlanta’s local rock/alternative station 99X to do a little summer movie preview. Listen to me struggle in real time to figure out why Minions & Monsters is this year’s big July 4^th weekend movie.

What I’m Playing

I wrapped up Mouse: P.I. for Hire, and I have to admit to being disappointed by the whole thing. The art style is gorgeous, but there’s not much on top of this. I have to disagree with IGN’s preview that the combat was worthwhile. It’s fine for what it is, and some of the weapons are creative (there’s a “devarnisher” that melts the skin from your enemies’, leaving them to collapse into a pile of bones), but mostly I just stuck with the machine gun. The storytelling itself felt scattershot, stuck between a noir parody and throwing any joke it could at the wall regardless of how well it fit the genre. 

Now I’m a couple of hours into the new James Bond game, First Light, and so far, it’s not bad. That being said, I’m still fully in tutorial land (Bond is in “advanced training” so I can learn his various combat moves and abilities), but I’m optimistic about how the game will play once 007 is on a real mission.

I'm also going to try some Twitch streaming on this one, so if you'd like to watch me muddle through (I am not good at gaming and never have been), subscribe!

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