'The Polka King' Review- An Oddball Crime Flick
This movie streamed in 2017.
While I did not expect to review The Polka King, I can say that this movie did have a few laughs. Director Maya Forbes tells the true story of Jan Lewan, a Polish immigrant and self-described “Polka King” who took hundreds of elderly people’s cash in a Ponzi scheme.
Jan Lewan (Jack Black) is a Polish man married to Marla (Jenny Slate). Marla’s overbearing mother Barb (Jacki Weaver) lives with him. He travels the road with a Polka band playing and performing while also running a trinket store and making pizza deliveries. When his band’s popularity starts to falter, he decides to let people invest in his business promising returns. His intentions are good, but after getting a visit from the government, informing him he would have to pay back the already spent money. When he cannot pay it back, he decides to start a series of fake businesses to invest in to make more money.
Soon, his fame starts to catch up with him, forcing Jan to start even more companies and promising even more cash. His friends and his investors soon become suspicious after a scandal involving bribing a beauty pageant in his wife’s favor.
The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017 but did not get broader exposure until it premiered as a Netflix exclusive. I am a little surprised that I bothered to watch it because it is not a comedy I would consider watching and I should have listened to my gut.
This movie was honestly, not that good. On paper, it should have been a comedic masterpiece, but except for Jack Black’s portrayal of Jan, it did not have the laugh out loud moments that it should have had.
With that in mind, there were some genuinely funny moments, again, almost exclusively with Jack Black. His comedic timing as Lewan is what made the movie enjoyable, at least in places. I also liked how they showed the authorities’ apathy in investigating Lewan’s scheme.
Honestly, I do not know how Slate keeps getting roles. All she did was annoy you as you tried to follow Lewan’s arc within the plot.
One of the biggest problems is a scene that seemed to victim blame the defrauded investors as greedy. They were retirees who just wanted a chance to make some money in their golden years. That is not greed, that is not wanting to slide into poverty. I think that was low of Forbes to include that scene.
Bottom line, The Polka King is carried by Jack Black and not much else. It is no wonder that Netflix picked it up.
PARENTAL CONCERNS: Brief Strong Language; Sexual innuendo; Thematic Elements
FAVORITE QUOTE: When I was little boy in Poland, all the times, I dreaming of America. So I come, I work hard, and I climb to the highest stars.
Check out the trailer below:
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or anime you would like me to review.