The Last Polka

A very funny effort. In 1986 I taped it from a rental store video and I am glad I did. I have now transferred it to DVD on my own but it would be great if it were released on DVD, digitally restored with a few special features. This "Mockumentary" features John Candy and Eugene Levy as the Shmenge Brothers, leaders of a popular polka band, and we are reflecting on their careers as they prepare to retire. Levy has gone on to appear in more of the same, but nothing he has done has gotten any better than the original.

If you like spoofs such as "Waiting for Guffman", "The Best in Show", "Spinal Tap" and "A Mighty Wind" you've got to see the granddaddy of them all, "The Last Polka"!

I have not seen this movie since its debut on HBO TV and it is not available to order to add to one's collection of VHS movies. Definitely without doubt one of the funniest comedies you will ever see in your lifetime. I could not stop laughing throughout the entirety of the movie, a laugh with every breath. A classic by Levy and Candy, and an impossible to obtain movie physically. Since it was made for TV, it was never printed for resale, which makes it one of the cult classics and one of the most sought after comedies of all time. Many of the jokes and set ups used to direct this movie appear in latter years in other comedies. It seems The Last Polka and the Shmenge Bros. set a precedent no one can keep up to. If you ever get a chance to see it do so, you probably will never get a second chance to see it. I saw it in 1984, and have been looking for any copy of it since, or notification it will be broadcast on TV and in 20 years it has not been rerun on TV. I have a feeling this one is tied up somewhere in a vault in John Candy's estate collection. Perhaps, MUST SEE. The best are impossible to find.

Simply the best of all of the mockumentaries. Candy and Levy at their best. Makes one want to take up the gelkies (with a little Russian dancing on the side), have some cabbage rolls and coffee (mmm, mmm, good!), and try and forget the Plattsburgh incident. See it, if you can find it.

I like to look at the "time capsule" idea to illustrate certain words from our era, as we might put into, say, a cornerstone to be viewed by those a century later. Some pictures, descriptive materials, films or tapes, of JFK or Dwight Eisenhower, could illustrate the essence of "charisma" (for "anti-charisma," try Newt Gingrich). How about Sharon Stone and Tia Carrere for "sexy?" A tape of "The Last Polka" could simply be enclosed to illustrate "funny." Far-fetched, silly, over-the-top, but hilarious at every turn. And these amiable oafs and their nearly-equally-oafish supporting players provide more laughs and enjoyment in this film than most of the big-screen productions which cost 20- or 40- or 50-times as much to produce and market. Funny at a rating of "11" on the 1-to-10 scale.

If you like John Candy and Eugene Levy, and you think polka music ain't too bad, you'll enjoy "The Last Polka." The film is well written and Candy and Levy turn in great performances. How good is this project? I lost my wife's VHS copy and I've spent a lot of time searching to find a replacement -- so far, no luck.