John Carney has carved himself a niche making music inflected dramas and his latest, co written with Peter McDonald, stars Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas. They play Rick, a washed-up wedding singer and Danny, a fading boy band star, respectively. They bond over a late night jam session after Danny attends a wedding that Rick plays at. But when Danny turns one of Rick’s songs into the hit that reignites his career, without giving him credit, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves.
There is a lot to like. Jonas is surprisingly decent and Rudd is his usual winning self. I particularly liked his relationship with fellow band member Sandy, played nicely by McDonald. Jack Reynor, star of Carney’s Sing Street, is excellent as Danny’s ruthless manager, though Havana Rose Liu is underused as his girlfriend.
The life of the wedding band and the venues they play feels very authentic. Rick’s disillusion with playing covers rather than writing and recording his own material, a decision made when his wife became pregnant, is relatable.
But there is one glaring issue when compared to Carney’s other, better, films. The quality of the music is not on a par. The song at the centre of the story is a bit of a dirge that we have to listen to again and again. In fact, the musical highpoint is a cover of Stevie Wonder’s I Wish, that Rick and Danny perform together. That is quickly followed by the movie’s highpoint as the two men hang out overnight drinking, smoking and tinkering with song ideas including the future hit.
The rest of the film does not reach those heights, but I did enjoy the understated ending.
Rating: 7 out of 10