Every fan of the comedy genre likely knows who Jack Black is by now. While he has undoubtedly had some major roles in films like the sequel to Jumanji coming out this year and a riveting rendition of King Kong, Black has always notoriously been a difficult talent to cast when it came to not being over the top and way out of character for the required role. That is until he has landed squarely with a role that he was born to play: polka legend Jack Lewan. This film, The Polka King, is not one to miss. Here are five reasons why you should carve out time to see it for yourself.
Jack Black
Black has fit best into roles that were modeled after real people, though many of these interpretations were arguably made far more dramatic than the actual life events. You can liken this kind of casting to his roles in both School of Rock and Bernie. This new film, entitled The Polka King plays to Jack Black’s natural performance skill set, having been part of a successful touring duo with Tenacious D.
Impressive Supporting Cast
Alongside the Hollywood star, is Black’s impressive supporting cast. For an indie film like this to land Black alone is fairly substantial, but when you add in Jason Schwartzman, Jenny Slate and Jacki Weaver, you can start to see how the film became as acclaimed and enjoyed as it did.
Based On A True Story
The movie itself follows a story that local Pennsylvania residents likely remember all too well. Jan Lewan, a rising star in the small niche of polka music, decided that he could be even more successful than he used to think was possible. By encouraging his devoted fans to invest into a Ponzi scheme with him at the top of the chain, his rocketing success was profound. Once the scam was revealed, Lewan would face criminal charges and be sent to jail for his deceit and illegal activities. The script and screenplay came from a detailed documentary released about this incident entitled: The Man Who Would Be Polka King by John Mikulak and Joshua Brown.
Highly Acclaimed
When the film debuted at this years Sundance Film Festival, people did not seem split on whether they enjoyed the film or not. Some of the festivals “most difficult to please” participants, such as critic Dennis Harvey, were completely enthralled with the film’s story and actor execution in the film to completely capture the essence of each character.
Coming To Netflix in 2018
Netflix has already purchased the global rights to the film, believing it to be something that their audiences on their provided streaming service will be excited to see. Plus, this saves you a trip to a second-showing theater to catch it on the big screen. Soon you can watch this entertaining tale of polka music and Ponzi schemes in the comfort of your own living room.
If you are looking for some reasons that you should be checking out Jack Black’s new role in this engaging story, hopefully the few that have been listed above can help you out. If nothing else, once it comes to Netflix, it is going to be easily accessible for your viewing pleasure, making it exponentially easier to catch the film when the timing is convenient for you to do so.
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