Maya Forbes' The Polka King is a Jack Black vehicle that runs out of steam after the first half hour. The tale of a Polish American entertainer who concocts a Ponzi scheme to keep his polka career afloat, The Polka King gives Mr. Black a chance to show off his singing skills and his crowd pleasing energy keeps the flick juiced for awhile. However, the musical numbers soon become predictable, as is the story line. Most of the talented cast is under utilized. Vanessa Bayer in a bear suit seems a particularly egregious waste of talent. Jason Schwartzman and Jacki Weaver, of all twosomes, have a funny romantic scene, but too much of the film is rote and visually trite; as are most films made by budding directors who were comedy writers.
What rankled me the most was that a film set in Pennsylvania and based on a true story and local phenomenon had so little regional flavor. Compare this to another Black vehicle, Bernie, which nails its Texas locale and one can see how generic The Polka King is. A pleasant enough film, but it could have used more scrapple. (1/17/18)
No comments:
Post a Comment