“Power Ballad” follows the old adage that there’s two sides to every story. As I left the theater, I found myself wondering if this one did need the second side.

Paul Rudd stars as Rick, the lead singer of a wedding band who has a chance encounter with Danny (Nick Jonas), one of the biggest pop stars in the world. They wound up having a jam session together, and in the following months, Danny winds up taking one of Rick’s original songs and making it into a massive hit without giving him any credit.

“Power Ballad” shows both Rick’s journey to get credit for the song that is resonating around the world and Danny’s super stardom that is sustained because of that song. While it is an interesting concept to show both sides, as I said at the start, I could have done without a deeper dive into Danny’s story.

Rick’s story is compelling enough, and I would’ve loved a movie that spent more time with the characters that make up his world, from his wife and daughter to his fellow bandmates.

I had pretty high expectations for this movie between Rudd, the musical nature of the story and co-writer/director John Carney, who made “Once,” one of my all-time favorite movies.

The worst I can say is it is uneven and some of the Danny storylines just seem a little dull or predictable.

But overall, I still had a good time watching this one, and Rudd continues to be one of those actors who lights up the screen with his presence.

Rating: 3.5/5