The Polka King

The Polka King is an American biographical comedy film directed by Maya Forbes and written by Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky. The film is about real-life Polish-American polka band leader Jan Lewan, who was imprisoned in 2004 for running a Ponzi scheme. The film stars Jack Black as Lewan, as well as Jenny Slate, Jason Schwartzman, and Jacki Weaver. It premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2017. It was released on Netflix on January 12, 2018. The Polka King is based on a 2009 documentary about Lewan, The Man Who Would Be Polka King, directed by Joshua Brown and John Mikulak. Plot The film opens at a performance of Jan Lewan's (Black) polka band in Pennsylvania. Near the close of the show, he brings his wife Marla (Slate) onstage. A former beauty queen, Marla models amber jewelry they sell at their souvenir store. After the concert, Jan recounts to a happy concertgoer how he and Marla met, and how he has worked every terrible job imaginable, from dishwasher to janitor, to achieve the American dream. The clarinetist in his band, Mickey (Schwartzman), visits Jan at his gift shop to tell him he wants to quit the band. Mickey and his bandmates suspect that Jan has gotten in over his head and cites rumors such as a woman in a costume will be a "dancing bear act". Jan admits to all this, convincing Mickey to "see the big picture".