What I’m watching: New Netflix bio pics are entertainingDate: 2/8/2018 Two new films on Netflix and an obscure science fiction film from 1980 is what I’ve been watching.
On Netflix: The Polka King/The Man Who Would be Polka King
Ever hear of Jan Lewan? I hadn’t but this new film starring Jack Black as a Polish immigrant pop singer who transformed himself after arriving in this country as a polka band leader in Pennsylvania introduces audiences to this intriguing character.
Simply put: you don’t have to be Polish or a polka fan to appreciate this film or the documentary that inspired it, which is also on Netflix.
In “The Polka King,” we see a depiction of the American dream gone awry. Lewan is shown as a good-natured but ambitious man who is willing to break the law in order to have the cash necessary to advance his show business career. He starts an illegal investment business, which soon overtakes him turning it into a Ponzi scheme.
As Lewan becomes deeper in debt, he becomes more desperate leading to a very bad end.
I watched the documentary first and it was pretty compelling viewing and was surprised to see how the biopic “The Polka King” followed it so closely. The one large difference is “The Polka King” reaches for humor at times, while the documentary sees the tragedy of the events.
This is an odd choice at times, especially when Lewan is almost murdered in prison.
Of the two productions, the documentary may be the more successful, although Black certainly works hard to show Lewan as essentially a hard-working guy who allowed himself to break the law.
On Netflix: A Futile and Stupid Gesture
I don’t know if the National Lampoon was part of your growing up in the 1970s and 80s – I was a MAD guy, but I read the Lampoon as well. This film tells the story of Doug Kenney, of the two founders of the National Lampoon as well as the man who co-wrote “Animal House” and “Caddyshack.”
Kenney was an irreverent kind of guy and this film successfully matches that spirit. The film opens with Martin Mull playing an old version of Kenney, despite the fact that Kenney died in 1980. Will Forte plays Kenney, even though Mull readily acknowledges that he is too old for the part.
The film tries to be accurate but at two moments admits its own historical shortcomings. There is a scene in which a whole group of Lampoon contributors are acknowledged who is not depicted in the film and another which is a series of footnotes correcting the film’s narrative.
It is devices such as these that give the film an off-kilter charm that I liked. Mull also turns up to say the actors the film uses to portray now famous people such as John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase don’t really look like the people whom they are supposed to look like.
Perhaps the terrible beards and wigs are also part of this effort to wink at the audience.
In its unconventional manner, it makes Kenney look like a fairly sympathetic figure, even though it’s clear he is a royal pain in the backside and a man who readily succumbed to the worse excesses of success.
For fans of the Lampoon, this film should be of interest. “Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon,” a great documentary, should also be sought out.
On Blu-ray: The Aftermath
I had to look up this obscure science fiction film made by indie director, writer and actor Steve Barkett as it has completely eluded me until now.
That is one of satisfying aspects of being a film fan: discovering movies that you didn’t know exist.
As a micro-budget home-gown effort, Barkett gets an “A” for effort,” although his film suffers in the same way what many low-budget films do.
The plot involves Barkett as a returning astronaut with a crew of two to discover the planet has been ravaged by nuclear and biological war in his absence. There are ravaged cities, a band of mutants and a group of male survivors who capture and assault women.
The problem is that Barkett did not have the budget to fully and successfully realize this premise. He doesn’t do too badly, but this was a big budget concept done cheaply and it shows.
I applaud anyone who takes on making a low budget film, but the secret is to have a script that matches your budget.
There are a couple of plot points that weren’t expected and Barkett includes two assault scenes that are difficult to watch, especially in today’s environment.
VCI’s restoration and presentation of this film is admirable, though, and even though the film was uneven, in true film nut tradition I enjoyed it in spite of its shortcomings.
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