Sundance 2017: 10 Films Everyone Is Buzzing About

9. The Polka King

Brigsby Bear
Red Hour Productions

Directors: Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky

The Plot: Based on a true story, The Polka King follows Pennsylvanian musical sensation Jan Lewan (Jack Black) as he develops a get-rich-quick scheme that ultimately lands him in serious trouble.

The Buzz: It's been a while since Jack Black has had a meaty dramatic role to chew on, and The Polka King very much represents a return to that space for the actor.

The film details the rise and fall of Lewan in a quirky, offbeat fashion, featuring a lead character who does terrible things but is impossible not to like.

Black excels in roles like this; his Dewey Finn from 2003's School of Rock was a bit of a scumbag, but the actor made him likable and easy to root for, and The Polka King treads a similar line.

The Guardian gave it three out of five stars, mentioning that "Jack Black shines" and the film is "full of heart", so at the very least, you should go into the theatre expecting an amusing, enjoyable ride.

The Polka King does not yet have a wide release date.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.