The Polka King

Title--  The Polka King

Release Year--  2017

Running Time--  1 Hour and 35 Minutes

Director--  Maya Forbes

Cast--  Jack Black, Jason Schwartzman, Jenny Slate, Jacki Weaver, J.B. Smoove, Robert Capron, Willie Garson, Vanessa Bayer, Mary Klug, Kevin Healey

Based on true events, the story of the Polka King of Pennsylvania, Jan Lewan, develops a plan to get rich that lands him in trouble.

The Jan Lewan Band is playing to a crowd of people and as the show draws to a close, Jan Lewan (Jack Black) brings his wife Marla Lewan (Jenny Slate) on the stage.  Marla is wearing amber jewelry from his native Poland and Jan is advertising it to sell after the show.  As he is helping to pack up the equipment after the show, an elderly woman by the name of Anita Krzyewski (Mary Klug) comes to him and tells him that she is his biggest fan.  Jan then begins to tell Anita about his life and all the horrible jobs he had to do to achieve the American Dream, which led him to meet Marla, a former beauty queen and the love of his life.

The following morning Jan is in the kitchen making breakfast for his family, Marla, their son David (Robert Capron) and his mother-in-law Barb (Jacki Weaver).  She is complaining because she thinks that Jan needs to get a “real” job and forget the singing.  Jan is convinced that he will make it big with his polka band and dismisses what Barb has to say.  Later that day, Mickey Stutz (Jason Schwartzman) (later Mickey Pizzazz) comes to the Jan Lewan Band Gift Shop to tell Jan that he is quitting the band.  Jan takes Mickey next door and urges him not to quit the band when Mickey admits that two other members of the band were thinking about quitting as well, especially since they had heard a rumor that Jan was hiring a dancing bear.  Jan admits that he has added a dancing bear to the show and tells him not to worry, that he was going to give them more money, he just needed more time.

Anita Krzyewski brings her husband Ed (Kevin Healey) to the gift shop and they express interest in investing with his band.  Jan takes them into his office and guarantees them a 12% return on their interest if they invest and soon, he has other people wanting to invest in the band.  After six months the state Securities and Exchange Commission office gets a call about the Lewan investments and investigator Ron Edwards (J.B. Smoove) visits Jan to tell him that what he is doing is illegal since he never registered with the state and he has to return all the money that he had taken.

Jan, having already taken hundreds of thousands of dollars and not having any way to meet the deadline, is approached again by Anita and Ed and told they want to invest more.  Jan changes the name on the the paperwork and takes their money.  When Ron calls to check on Jan and the progress he’s making, Jan tells him that everything is taken care of without telling him that he has created a new company in which to take investments with.

Where should I begin?  I honestly liked this movie although after sitting through it, it is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.  I don’t really mind Jack Black films...most of them anyway...and that is how I feel about this one.  It was funny and although Jack Black makes it funny, I think that Jacki Weaver as his mother-in-law Barb steals the entire show.  She is absolutely HILARIOUS.  

This film does have it’s low points.  There are a few times where it feels like the script gets a little muddy and the flow of the film dams up a little bit or even drags on for longer than it should but for the most part that can be overlooked.  This is also another one of those Netflix films, so if you are looking to see this one, you may need to make friends with someone that has a subscription if you don’t have one yourself.

There are a few parts of this film that I was watching and going “no way that really happened!” but alas, at the end of the film they show actual pictures from the events that the film touched on.

At just over a hour and a half this is not a terrible film to sit through, especially since here it is the next day and I have found myself singing “Ole, ole ole, ole!” (you will understand once you watch the film) all day long.  Take the time to decide for yourself, do a little polka and Don’t Forget the Popcorn!