By Lynn Venhaus

What happens when a long-dormant dream resurfaces in your life, and it’s within your reach, only to have cruel fates snatch it away?

Ah, the twists of fate. And when dueling singers Rick and Danny are played by effortlessly charming Paul Rudd and charismatic Nick Jonas in the John Carney Musical Universe, the result is a shaggy look at ambition, what matters in life and how music connects us.

After 20 years of modern musical movies, writer-director John Carney returns with another uplifting journey of self-discovery that has many fine emotional beats, moving us with natural conflicts that veer into farcical territory.

Maybe the two tones don’t always mix well together, but this clever story, co-written with Peter McDonald, who also appears as Rick’s lovably quirky bandmate Sandy, has a sincere beating heart that tackles contemporary music business issues.

The middle-age bandmates in Ireland’s grooviest wedding band, “The Bride & Groove,” get everyone up on the dance floor with the pop hits of the ‘80s and ‘90s, but there is a restlessness to lead singer Rick.

When a wedding guest is former boy-band member Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), he’s invited to join the band onstage, and he and Rick hit it off singing Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish.”

Keeping that spark between them, collaboration ensues during their own after-party, where they play music and drink into the wee hours of the morning. They share dreams, their creative processes, what drives them and more.

You feel their connection, so when things don’t later end on a high note, it becomes a series of unfortunate incidents that put the pair on very different trajectories.

Once back in L.A., Danny’s solo songs aren’t grabbing his record label, and manager Mac (Carney regular Jack Reynor) gives him the tough talk about falling down the relevant scale. The pressure to get back in the game is enormous, especially after the other boy band members have been successful.

So, he steals Rick’s heart-on-his-sleeve intimate acoustic tune and spiffs it up, creating a global smash pop hit and reclaiming the big time – selling out arenas and living the good life.

Shopping in a mall one day, Rick hears the song playing, to his surprise, but can’t prove he wrote it, so his behavior becomes erratic and combative. When Danny won’t return his calls, he takes drastic measures, and heads to L.A. for a confrontation.

One thing is certain. The song in question, “How to Write a Song (Without You)” is an instant catchy earworm. Could it follow Oscar-winning “Falling Slowly” from “Once” as a Best Song candidate?

Everyman Rudd, whom audiences usually root for, isn’t afraid to play a flawed character whose behavior at times is questionable. His wife Rachel (Marcella Plunkett) and daughter Aja (Beth Fallon) are baffled but love him, for better or worse.

And Jonas, whom everyone pegs as a scoundrel, is a more conflicted guy, so the lines between hero and villain are blurred.

Carney, the director of “Once,” “Begin Again,” “Sing Street” and “Flora and Son,” is in familiar territory. But he looks at the price of ambition through an older lens here.

And nobody is as perceptive about music’s redemptive impact. In his raw and real explorations, Carney has created authentic characters and original songs that meet the moments.

The weathered Dublin setting is cozy and comfortable, while the L.A. paradise is framed as shallow and sterile. The realistic look at musicians and their struggles, how they fit into the world, is one of Carney’s hallmarks. How natural the characters interact is another.

After all, he is the bassist to The Frames. Carney and his longtime songwriting partner Gary Clark penned 12 original songs for the movie. The soundtrack also includes the wedding reception staple “Celebration,” plus nostalgia nods “The Power of Love,” “Summer of ’69,” “Message in a Bottle,” “Maneater,” and “The Boys Are Back in Town.”

For those who believe music unites us, “Power Ballad” is a heart-tugging, funny look at the ever-changing tides in life.

The 2026 musical comedy-drama is directed by John Carney and stars Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Peter McDonald, Marcella Plunkett and Beth Fallon. It is rated R for language throughout and some drug use and runtime is 1 hour, 38 minutes. It opened in theatres on June 5. Lynn’s Grade: B+.