While I have yet to see every film in this year’s Chicago Critics Film Festival (CCFF), it’s safe to say that “Power Ballad” is the most thoroughly enjoyable of any I’ll see in this year’s lineup. It’s the latest movie from Irish writer/director John Carney, known for the Oscar-winning “Once” and the fabulous “Sing Street”, and like those movies, this one revolves around music. Carney is a filmmaker who typically tells beguiling, heartfelt stories in which characters are connected through music, specifically the process of creating music and all its struggles and joys. We forget that coming up with your own song, a catchy one at that, is far from an easy or quick process. That is, for most of us.

“Power Ballad” focuses on two American singer/songwriters who meet one night at a wedding reception just outside of Dublin, Ireland. Rick Power (Paul Rudd) is the lead singer and guitarist of the band, The Bride and Groove, marketed as “Ireland’s grooviest wedding band,” and Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas) is a former boy-band star, now 27 years old and past his teen idol prime, looking for a way to start his solo career comeback.

Rick has been in Ireland for the past 17 years, around the time he arrived with his former band. At that gig, he met an Irish woman named Rachel (Marcella Plunkett), and that was it. They fell in love, got married, and have a daughter, Aja (Beth Fallon), who is now 14. While his band broke up, he never stopped playing music, often working on his own songs at home.

Rick eventually joined the aforementioned wedding band with his goofy Irish guitarist pal, Sandy (Peter McDonald, who co-wrote the movie with Carney), and they churn out standard wedding fare covers such as “Celebrate” and “The Boys Are Back in Town” – not sure why that last one would be considered wedding reception material, but you get the idea. Granted, now and then, Rick will add one of his own songs to the band’s playlist, with his mates reluctantly going along with it. When he plays his songs, he envisions he’s playing to a packed arena, but then the empty reception dance floor snaps him back to reality. While he finds contentment in family life, Rick once dreamed of playing at Madison Square Garden.

Danny is friends with a groom who hired Rick and his band, and the two meet when Rick begrudgingly accepts the groom’s request to have his friend join them on stage for a song. Danny hops on stage and sings lead on Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish”, the band’s next song. Rick and the rest of the band can see and hear that Danny is no novice, displaying obvious charisma, effortless stage presence, and a smooth voice. Danny doesn’t steal the spotlight and pulls Rick in to share in singing duties. It doesn’t take long for the performance to go viral, and that’s when The Bride and Groove realize who they just played with.

Later that night, Danny invites Rick over to the spacious suite where he’s staying, and the two become kindred spirits, connected by their passion for the search for a good song. Danny had arrived before the wedding date and stocked the place with guitars, keyboards, and recording equipment, hoping a new location would fuel inspiration for new songs. As they present each other with songs they’ve been working on, figuring out chords and lyrics, Rick is encouraged by the collaboration and creativity he’s been missing.

What we see up to now is the kind of John Carney we’re familiar with: two talented musicians finding each other unexpectedly and creating songs. Two musicians coming together and finding the harmony lacking in their lives.

“Power Ballad” has something different in mind, though, and that’s revealed months later in the story when we catch up with Danny. He’s returned to his swanky estate in the Hollywood Hills and to his girlfriend, Marcia (Havana Rose Liu), yet Danny is having a hard time finding the songwriting mojo he had back in Ireland. Danny’s manager, Mac (played by “Sing Street” alum Jack Reynor, who was also in the director’s last movie, 2023’s “Flora and Son”), reminds the singer that he needs a hit, which adds more pressure.

Then Danny stumbles upon a tune he’s been fooling around with called “How to Write a Song (Without You),” and it impresses Marcia. Indeed, it has an irresistible soft-rock anthem feel, with lyrics that say the singer can’t write a song unless his one true love is there to inspire it. Danny records the song, and it becomes a huge hit, proving to be his return ticket to popularity. It gets millions of YouTube views and jump-starts a new phase in Danny’s career, with listeners taking him seriously as a solo artist. However, there’s a problem, and it’s a big one. Danny didn’t write the song; Rick did.

That last detail is huge, but it’s also in the trailer, so we can’t consider it a spoiler. Rick’s learning that Danny has stolen his song becomes the story’s catalyst, and the way he discovers his song is now out there for everyone to hear feels quite real. Of course, when Rick tries to convince his bandmates and family that this hit song is his, their reaction doesn’t go as he hoped. Because Rick doesn’t have any audio or video recording of his authorship of this song, he has no way to prove his claim.

Eventually, Rick makes his way to the States to confront Danny. He feels betrayed, and all he wants is to look at Danny in the eyes and have him admit what he’s done. There’s definitely humor in “Power Ballad”, but this isn’t the movie audiences expect from a “Paul Rudd comedy” because it offers multi-dimensional characters we can relate to. It also subverts our expectations by not presenting Danny as a flat-out devious opportunist. We can understand why he does what he does, even if we don’t condone it. After all, song credit theft is nothing new; it’s been going on forever.

While the dramedy is propelled by Danny’s actions, “Power Ballad” remains Rick’s story throughout, as Rudd shows the character’s convincing emotional journey. On one level, Rick is kind of flattered that his song has gained such a following, yet he is also angry and hurt. It kills him that his name isn’t attached to the song, as it should be, and he actually thought Danny was cool and they connected. He never thought something like this would happen, and Rudd plays underlying pain that’s eating away at him with gradual vulnerability that’s refreshing to see. Rick’s pain also stems from his wife and daughter having a hard time believing him, primarily because he can’t surface any proof to back it up.

The movie’s third act has an inevitable confrontation between Rick and Danny, and thankfully, none of the way it plays out is predictable or formulaic. It’s predominantly funny, but it also has a surprising physicality and emotionality. Neither Rudd nor Jonas displays a mix of emotions throughout, but especially in this third act, and Carney continues to show his knack for making an engaging drama first and foremost, with added comedic elements to humanize his stories.

As expected with a Carney movie, there is infectious music in “Power Ballad”, not as replayable as “Once” and “Sing Street”, but you’ll be humming “How to Write a Song (Without You)” well after viewing. It’s not a movie that gets all that deep when it comes to subjects of identity and ownership, but the last couple of minutes of this movie will make you glad that Carney continues to do what he does best.

RATING: ***

(Lionsgate will distribute “Power Ballad” with a limited release on May 29th in the US/UK/Ireland and a wider release on June 5th)