The Polka King (2017) Reviews

• An Absurd And Fascinating Story

  kjproulx2018-01-13

  I've always enjoyed watching films with Jack Black as the leading man, but his career has been pretty hit or miss in terms of good and bad content. Recently with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, he's been having a solid year, but I've been waiting for his classic performances to return. Not since films like High Fidelity, Shallow Hal, or School of Rock have I truly found myself loving him. That being said, I loved how he was committed to his role in the recent rendition of Jumanji and The Polka King only continues his recent devotion to acting. This is a film that completely came under the radar for me, but it's a pretty solid surprise. Now streaming on Netflix everywhere, here's why I think you should check out The Polka King. Exploring the craziness that ensued when one man wanted to create a so-called "Empire," The Polka King follows Jan Lewan as he does his best to find investors for his company, in order to tour the world, making tons of money. The only issues are that his touring hardly have him breaking even, while his investors continue to invest money, having him owing millions of dollars and spiraling out of control. More than anything, this was simply a fascinating watch, especially when having the knowledge that it's a true story. Polka itself isn't very interesting to me in terms of art mediums, but there was something about this film that hooked me from beginning to end. From humor to drama, The Polka King has it all. When Lewan is down on his luck, he enjoys finding the best in every situation and that makes for quite a few hilarious scenarios and I found myself audibly laughing on multiple occasions here. Jack Black, as I mentioned already, is a fantastic talent in term of comedy and he doesn't disappoint here. Jenny Slate as Lewan's wife is terrific as well and they share a strange chemistry that I was sort of surprised by. On top of these two great performances, I found myself loving Jason Schwartzman's contribution to this film as well, and I haven't really been blown away by any of his work in the past, so that's saying something from me. I may be slightly biased when giving my recommendation here because I'm the type of person who loves the meshing of multiple genres. When Comedies and Dramas are mixed together to make films like off-beat movies like 50/50 or Safety Not Guaranteed (just to name a couple), I feel that it's more relatable. Not everything in the world is dour and depressing and not everything is cheerful, so a nice blend of the two is always what draws me in more. The Polka King does a great job at making you laugh, but you also feel terrible for this guy, who steals everyone's money, but his heart's always in the right place. In the end, this is one of the better films to be released on Netflix in a while and I recommend it to those who're looking for a quick watch. At a breezy 90 minutes, this movie gives you comedy, drama, life lessons, and hope. There's not much more you could ask for from a movie like this. The one downside is that you can sort of predict where the film's going, even if you're unaware of the true story. It's the type of movie that's very solid and worth a watch, but won't ever be up for awards or even remembered for that matter. That's a shame because it's a nice little comedy that I believe deserves some attention.

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• Overall a pretty solid movie

  edg01232018-01-13

  Basically everything about this movie was about average. The acting is fine, the characters, while sort of bland, are interesting enough. The story is good, the writing is good, and so is the directing. But there are some things that fall flat. For example, the cinematography, for the most part, was bland. Every shot lookedthe same and felt the same. However, I thought the lighting was well done. Also, some of the perfomances felt a little off. But, I do believe that Jenny Slate and, especially, Jack Black were able to carry the film and make it more fun to watch. Although this movie is listed as a comedy, there really is little comedy to be found. It's not that the movie is necessarily unfunny, it's just that there are no jokes or humorous situations. I did find myself smiling sometimes, not because it was funny, but because there are some fun or satisfying moments in the movie. For every negative this movie has, there is a positive that slightly evens it out. While it does leave some to be desired, this film is pretty solid and enjoyable. If you are thinking about seeing this movie, I would recommend it. Just don't go in with too high of expectations.

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• I didn't enjoy it

  Gordon-112018-02-05

  This film tells the story of a Polish Polka music singer, who makes a fortune by setting up a Ponzi scheme that targets the elderly. I thought it would be a comedy, but only after a few minutes in I already found out it was not funny at all. The story is not so engaging because the background stories of the investors are not explained, and hence I feel little for them. The characters in the film are not very likable either. Unfortunately, I did not like this film as I imagined I would.

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• Worth watching.

  lorirees2018-01-20

  I always have good intentions of going to the movies on Friday night. Inevitably fatigue from the workweek gets the best of me and I end of staying in. Polka King was my stay-at-home Friday night movie choice and I enjoyed it. Some reviews pan this movie as boring and terrible. This is a decent, entertaining movie. I knew about this story because years ago I saw the documentary, The Man Who Would Be Polka King. I have always like Jack Black, especially his performances in Bernie and Margot at the Wedding. Maybe Black didn't exactly pin down the Polish accent perfectly but I believe the essence of Jan Lewan came across. Maybe Jack Black isn't the perfect choice to play for this particular part, but he can sing and has good comedic timing. Jason Schwarman, Jenny Slate, and Jacki Weaver were also entertaining and believable when you compare the documentary (The Man Who Would Be Polka King) to this film. I especially appreciated Jacki Weaver's comedic and frustrated performance. There were plenty of funny parts -- I got a kick every time Black's character said Bitsy Bear. Definitely give this movie a chance if you are in the mood for a decent, entertaining movie. If you have time on your hands, it's fun to watch the documentary after.

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• Well made but disturbing and a film I am loathe to recommend....

  MartinHafer2018-02-16

  For much of the film, I thought that "The Polka King" was an original story...and I was enjoying it quite a bit. However, my wife did an internet search and informed me that it was a TRUE story and Jan Lewan was a real person AND he was not the least bit sorry for embezzling the nearly $5,000,000. Jan clearly is a sociopath...and giving him a film that makes him seem like a nice guy as well as giving him a forum just seems morally bankrupt and spoiled the film for me. At least in the case of Jack Black and the film "Bernie", the criminal apparently was a decent person who just snapped...whereas Lewan swindled people for years and deserves to die alone, penniless and miserable. Instead, they do a movie about him and he is continuing to tour. He also, I assume, is making money off the film and at the very least is gaining lots of positive attention. The story is set mostly in the 1990s. Jack Black plays Lewan, a minor celebrity who headed a polka band. However, the job didn't pay very much so he took to selling interest in his band....and instead of investing the money, he spent it on himself, his family and his band....leaving folks with nothing. At the end of the film, Jack Black and then Lewan himself sing a bizarre polka-rap! This awful song really annoyed me, however, when I learned that a small portion was removed for the film--a portion where Lewan says he was guilty of NOTHING and that he did nothing wrong!! Don't you think it's a bit dishonest to play the song and excise that portion in order to make the leading character seem more like an innocent bungler?! Overall, a very entertaining film that is morally questionable to say the very least as it seems to portray an evil man who bilked elderly folks out of their savings as some sort of nice guy you could love and respect.

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