Parsing the schedule at any film festival is never easy, because you don’t want to overlook a movie that could be a breakout hit. However, last year at the Sundance Film Festival, we felt “The Polka King” told us everything we need to know just from the movie title. True to form, the movie left Park City with zero buzz and middling reviews, however, the folks at Netflix crunched their data and determined this will find an audience on their platform. Maybe lots of people “Nacho Libre“? (Confession: I think that movie rules).
Directed by Maya Forbes (“Infinitely Polar Bear“), and starring Jack Black, Jenny Slate, Jason Schwartzman, Jacki Weaver, and J.B. Smoove, the movie finds Black putting on an outrageous accent, and playing Polish hustler Jan Lewan, who essentially sets up a Ponzi scheme all while chasing the American dream. Okay, we didn’t see that premise coming….here’s the synopsis:
This exuberant tragicomedy recounts the remarkable but true story of the rise and fall of Polish émigré Jan Lewan, from striving tchotchke shop owner in the ’70s to the undisputed “King of Pennsylvania Polka” in the early ’90s. Lewan pursued the American Dream by any means necessary, fleecing investors and bribing officials to build a personal musical empire in what became the world’s only known Polka Ponzi scheme. Swept up by Lewan’s charismatic charm are his devoted wife, Marla, and his neurotic sidekick, Mickey.
“The Polka King” hits Netflix on January 12, 2018.