He's a big f-ing deal

Why I love Joe Biden: The man made me vote and even actually watch Jay Leno

"For months, I've searched for a leader to finish this journey alongside me and join me in making Washington work for the American people," Obama triumphantly preluded. "Today, I've come back to Springfield to tell you I've found that leader."

On that fall day, I anxiously awaited their first public appearance together with bated breath. I prepared to wipe away tears of partisan joy. Barack Obama was about to change my life. He was publicly announcing his selection of Senator Joe Biden of Delaware to be his running mate.

I'd spent the nerve-wracking spring and summer of 2008 crossing my fingers, biting my nails, and feigning overconfidence in the Obama campaign. Unlike the bandwagon of America's youth (of which I was still somewhat a part, at the time), I was bitterly pining for the lost pipe dream of another Clinton in the White House.

Sure, I knew Hillary could've been and was a viable Veep prospect, but even I didn't condone packing the ego sardines that tightly on Pennsylvania Avenue.

But when it came down to the final three, and Joe Biden was on the list, I knew there was hope for me as a converted Obama disciple.

"Please pick Joe. Please pick Joe."

He picked Joe.

I was thrilled! I threw my full support behind the Obama-Biden ticket, Hillary be damned. Not because of Obama, mind you. Of course not. But because of Joe Biden.

Since it was already in the stars that Obama would shoot straight into the Oval Office on the wing of his maniacal popularity, it looked as though Biden as the nation's runner-up was an assured reality. I cast my ballot — the first election in which I'd actually voted at the ballot box — and said a prayer. And I'm not a religious woman.

Joe Biden won. Oh, and so did Barack Obama. If the trend continues, we'll have world peace shortly.

It's no secret that I heart Joe Biden. I temporarily wiped the stars from my eyes long enough to see Joe glide onto Jay Leno's stage on Friday evening. My adoration for him is beginning to rival my affinity for Bill Clinton. I am an unwavering, unapologetic Joe Biden fangirl.

But for those of you that don't know Joey like I do, here's why I dig the dude from Delaware so.

We have walked the same hallowed halls, and we have the same document on our walls.
And I don't mean that one-size-fits-all certificate from my senior year trip to the White House, but close. Both Biden and I graduated from Syracuse University College of Law (go Orangem ... people!), the preeminent institution of legal education in upstate New York. As long as we pretend Cornell is invisible, ahem.

In fact, he's arguably my alma mater's most famous alumnus. Besides me, of course. Which earns him an automatic soft spot.

He's just like you and me.
I understand you didn't all go to Syracuse Law like Joey and me. You can still be just like us.

Anyone that can drop an f-bomb like Biden and be effective in the country's most heavily regulated profession deserves your utmost respect. I admire his expert command of the most versatile word in the English language. I strive to achieve the Joe standard.

And don't you get all holier-than-thou on me about the plagiarism thing. Like you never plagiarized works as a student or in your career? Not buying it. You just never got caught. But Santa left a lump of coal in your stocking in 1984 for a reason.

He's a mighty good man.
If this was the '90s, Salt 'n Pepa would've dedicated their urban homage to our boy Joe.

After his first wife, Neilia, and his 13-month-old daughter were killed while Christmas tree shopping (try to keep your eyes dry now), Biden began commuting every day from his Delaware dwelling to D.C. — a three-hour round-trip commute — to be home every day for his two surviving sons.

To further ward off absentee father syndrome, he made the daily trek for the entirety of his tenure in the Senate.

And while we're on a roll, Joe and his second wife, Jill, were married in 1977. And they can't keep their paws off each other to this day.

What a mighty, mighty good man.

His brilliance blinds me.
Those teeth, those teeth! Dentures or no, there's nothing like a Joe Biden mugshot.

Face it: You're sold, too. You'll be drinking the Joe juice before you can say, "Biden-Obama 2012."

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Movie review

Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd chase their dreams in music-heavy Power Ballad

Photo by David Cleary for Lionsgate

Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd in Power Ballad.

Writer/director John Carney is one of the great purveyors of movies featuring music (as opposed to musicals) in the 21st century. Starting with Once in 2007 (which was turned into a Broadway musical several years later), he has made music-themed stories like Begin Again, Sing Street, Flora and Son, and now Power Ballad.

Rick Power (Paul Rudd) is a former wannabe rock star who is now the lead singer of “Ireland’s #1 Wedding Band,” The Bride & Grooves. While they mostly play smaller weddings, a gig at a country estate leads to an encounter with Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), a former boy band member struggling to make it as a solo artist. Rick and Danny wind up bonding in a booze- and pot-filled jam session, sharing various song ideas.

After returning to Los Angeles and desperate for a hit, Danny steals one of Rick’s songs, which miraculously turns into the No. 1 “How to Write a Song (Without You).” Rick, initially overjoyed that something he wrote has become big, is crushed when he finds out Danny didn’t give him credit. His quest to find a way to prove his worth sends him into a spiral, upending the ordinary life he had built.

Co-written by Peter McDonald, the film is a nice exploration of two men trying to hold on to their music dreams. Their individual circumstances could not be more different, but each of them knows the ups and downs of the business as well as the other, as well as the ineffable magic of creating that one great song. While the music scenes are hit-and-miss because of a reliance on lip synching, the scene featuring Rick and Danny trading ideas is electric with creativity.

Oddly, though, the film could have used a bit less music and more of a focus on the two men’s personal lives. Rick wound up living in Ireland after falling in love with his future wife, Rachel (Marcella Plunkett), while on tour with his former American band. He spends a decent amount of time with her and his daughter, Aja (Beth Fallon), but his story needed a few more family scenes to drive the point home. Danny’s personal life is all but nonexistent, giving his arc less impact than it could have had.

Instead of loved ones, Carney and McDonald try to give Rick and Danny more depth through friends and business associates. Rick’s bandmate Sandy (McDonald) is a ride-or-die kind of guy for him, but his presence is only good for a few humorous distractions. Danny’s manager Mac (Jack Reynor) is difficult to parse, as he goes to bat for Danny on multiple occasions, but also seems to keep him at arm’s length.

It’s long been joked that Rudd never ages, and that youthfulness serves him well in this role, in which his character is supposed to be much younger than his actual age of 57. His energy and enthusiasm make his character appealing throughout, even when Rick starts to go off the deep end. Jonas is decent in his role, selling the music side well, but there might be a reason his character doesn’t have many scenes requiring him to show emotions.

While Power Ballad has all the hallmarks of another great Carney music movie, it’s missing a few pieces that could have put it over the top. It’s still a fun film with an insanely catchy song at its center, but it’s not quite as memorable as most of the filmmaker’s previous efforts.

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Power Ballad is now playing in theaters.

movies music film