Jack Black
Jan Lewan
The Polka King
“The greatest scandal in polka history.”
2017
1h 35m
Director: Maya Forbes
Overview
Local Pennsylvania polka legend Jan Lewan develops a plan to get rich that shocks his fans and lands him in jail.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
6 min readThe Polka King’s Two-Step: How Jack Black Turns a Ponzi Scheme Into a Party (That You Might Regret Attending)
I’ll admit it: I went in expecting a one-joke movie. A Ponzi scheme wrapped in polka, with Jack Black doing his usual Jack Black thing—big voice, bigger grin, all elbows and enthusiasm. What I didn’t expect was the way the film keeps sidestepping its own punchline, like a dancer who refuses to land the final step.
It’s a comedy that doesn’t quite know how to end, a true-crime story that flinches from the crime, and a character study that falls in love with its subject a little too hard. And yet—here’s the kicker—I kept watching. Not because it was good, exactly, but because it was interesting in the wrong way, like a car crash where the only casualty is your dignity.
Maya Forbes’ The Polka King is based on the true story of Jan Lewan, a Polish immigrant who became a minor celebrity in Pennsylvania’s polka scene before his Ponzi scheme unraveled, taking down retirees, friends, and his own bandmates with it. The film frames this as a darkly comic rise-and-fall, but it’s the fall that gives it trouble. Lewan’s scam isn’t treated with the satirical bite of The Wolf of Wall Street or the tragic weight of The Inventor; instead, it’s played as a series of increasingly desperate gambits by a man who can’t stop performing, even when the stakes are real.
The problem isn’t that the movie doesn’t take the crime seriously—it’s that it doesn’t seem to know how to take it seriously. The tone wobbles between affectionate parody and half-hearted pathos, like a drunk uncle trying to give a eulogy.
Jack Black, though. Jack Black is the reason this movie exists, and he’s the reason it’s worth watching. He doesn’t just play Lewan; he becomes him, down to the accent (a thick, wobbly Polish-American hybrid that sounds like it was learned from a cassette tape in 1987) and the physicality (all bouncing steps and exaggerated gestures, like a man who’s convinced he’s the most charismatic person in any room).
Black has always been a master of the performance of performance—think of his work in School of Rock or Bernie, where his characters are essentially professional enthusiasts—but here, he takes it further. Lewan isn’t just a showman; he’s a man who needs the show to go on, even when the audience is booing and the police are at the door. There’s a moment early on where Lewan, mid-concert, realizes his investors are about to revolt.
Audience Opinions
Audience 6.0/10
"Jack Black’s exuberant turn as a delusional polka king enlivens a bizarre true story that plays as mildly entertaining but far from essential."
Jack Black’s performance is widely seen as the big draw: his accent, physical comedy, musical numbers, and ability to make a morally dubious scammer oddly sympathetic are praised even by those who dislike the movie overall. latestnetflix.com's read is that the true-story angle and some warm, quirky moments keep it watchable, but pacing issues, inconsistent laughs, and a generally flat, forgettable execution leave a lot of viewers calling it merely decent or saying that only the lead performance really works.
What viewers praise
- Energetic Jack Black lead His charismatic, high-energy portrayal of Jan Lewan, complete with singing and an over-the-top accent, is repeatedly singled out as the reason to watch.
- Strange true story The real-life tale of a polka bandleader running a Ponzi scheme, meeting dignitaries, and scamming pensioners is regarded as inherently fascinating and sometimes unbelievable in a good way.
- Moments of effective humor Scattered gags, running bits like the ‘Bitsy Bear’ line, and the clash between upbeat polka and financial crime earn genuine laughs for some viewers.
- Colorful supporting characters Performances such as the sharp-tongued mother-in-law and the oddball bandmates add spice and personality, even when they are underused.
Common complaints
- Overall lackluster impact The film is often described as fine but forgettable, with several viewers calling it decent, meh, or saying it ‘sucked’ aside from Jack Black.
- Uneven pacing and structure Slow patches and a finale that lands weakly for some, including those who only fully appreciated the true-story aspect at the very end, make the experience feel off-balance.
- Hit-or-miss comedy The tone aims for silly but leaves some viewers ‘never laughing so little,’ with jokes and gags that do not consistently land.
- Shallow exploration of drama The scam’s victims, moral fallout, and emotional stakes are seen as underdeveloped, leading to a story that feels lighter and less impactful than the material allows.
Recommended for
Jack Black completists True-crime comedy fans Offbeat biopic enthusiasts Light weekend streaming choices Music-themed comedy watchers
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsThe con man sang backup at Sundance
Jack Black premiered The Polka King at Sundance on 22 January 2017. The real Jan Lewan was in the room. NEPA Scene says Lewan had served five years and was still paying restitution to mostly elderly victims. A festival-goer asked them to perform. They did "Rappin' Polka" a cappella. Lewan has said the song came from rap he heard in prison. Black told the Q&A he was "born to do it" after watching The Man Who Would Be Polka King on a loop and falling down YouTube polka wormholes. He talked to Lewan on FaceTime. latestnetflix.com's take is that "I just got to ask him everything about his life, from birth to now."He joked that he would release the tapes. "No, just kidding. Never!" 
On his own site, Lewan says those calls started at the beginning of 2016 and ran for three months at 8 p.m., even when Black rang from Copenhagen at 2 a.m. Black's promise, as Lewan tells it, was "Jan I will be 100-percent you!" They first met at Avatar Studios in New York. Black walked in already using the accent. They recorded the soundtrack in two days with Lewan in the booth. Afterward Black started singing "Rappin' Polka" in a pizza place. At Sundance he said the album "just fell into place. Jan was there, and it was kind of magic." He also estimated the movie was about "87 percent" true. Lewan, after watching, said it was "pretty much true." Jason Schwartzman plays Mickey Pizzazz, a composite the writers invented. Schwartzman said the other actors faked their instruments and that Black sang live on set, with a few exceptions. ,
They circled Hazleton and never went in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWGh7si0Y50
Wallace Wolodarsky said they shot in Rhode Island and did not shoot in Hazleton at all. "We were afraid to go to Hazleton." He did not say whether that was fear of backlash or of the town's reputation. The Rhode Island Film and TV Office put principal photography from mid-July through mid-August 2016, with Pawtucket as headquarters. Valley Breeze listed homes on Waltham and Harvard, plus the Modern Diner, the German Club, and Memorial Hospital. WJAR said a Cranston strip mall stood in for Lewan's shops, and that the real scheme fleeced investors of $5 million. Maya Forbes directed and wrote it with Wolodarsky, from the 2009 documentary by Joshua Brown and John Mikulak. Jack Black also produced. Jenny Slate plays Marla. Jacki Weaver is the mother-in-law. J.B. Smoove is the SEC man. Netflix dropped it worldwide on 12 January 2018. Rotten Tomatoes' critic line is that discordant direction and a sloppy script keep it from singing. The catalog year stays 2017 because Sundance happened first. The trailer still calls it the greatest scandal in polka history. , , , , ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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