“I was born to do it!” Jack Black declared after the premier of his new film, “The Polka King.” His comment was received with thunderous applause from an audience of 1,200 packed into Park City’s Eccles Theater. Black plays Jan Lewan, a charismatic Polish immigrant living in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, whose passions are for Polka music and American patriotism. Jan works odd jobs, washing dishes, delivering pizza, and booking small Polka gigs with his band, as well as managing a small tchotchke shop. He combines his work ethic with a dogged determination to live out his American Dream, but Jan needs the help of some investors to turn his dream into reality, and he promises a 12% return on their investments. There’s just one problem: he’s creating the world’s only Polka Ponzi scheme. While Jan does not understand that his actions are illegal at first, he digs himself into a hole with his investors and continues to take their money, specifically by targeting the elderly.
Aside from the Ponzi scheme, Jan endures criticism from his mother-in-law, Jacki Weaver, who believes he lives in a fantasy world. She continuously suspects Jan’s dishonesty, but his magnetic personality gets the better of both his wife, Marla, Jenny Slate, and his band mate and best friend, Mickey, played by Jason Schwartzman.
As Slate said, “Jan represents hope” and “Marla wanted to believe in the light.” As the story progresses, thanks to Black’s charismatic acting and the capable direction of Maya Forbes, one begins to believe that Jan is capable of doing anything. His relentless determination allows him to venture into several successful businesses. He crafts a music empire, a family business, a travel agency for European vacations with Jan’s “Pope package,” and even creates his own vodka brand.
While it may seem difficult to sympathize with a character that targets the elderly in an investment scam, Jan differs from the typical financial scam artist. He is a devoted husband, a good father to his son, a devout Catholic, a natural leader among his band mates, and a man who goes to extreme lengths to care for anyone close to him. His confidence and determination extends beyond himself, allowing both Mickey and Marla to pursue their own passions. Mickey adopts the stage name Mickey Pizazz and Marla enters the Mrs. Pennsylvania Beauty Pageant at the urging of Jan.
Based on a true story, Maya Forbes’s second feature film offers a comedic look at the rise and fall of the King of Pennsylvania Polka while simultaneously examining the hardships associated with being a Polish immigrant pursuing the American dream. “The Polka King” is a compelling watch and an elaborate look at a man with some of the highest highs and lowest lows. Slate and Schwartzman provide strong supporting roles, but Jack Black steals the show in his best performance since “School of Rock” in 2003. Black’s overblown Polish accent, signature charm, and eccentric personality bring Jan Lewan to life and cement his strange legacy.