In Heaven There Is No Beer?

As with all of Les Blank's documentaries, this one is so warm and organic that it's probably not possible to dislike it. The subject is polka music and culture, which is explained to originate from various central European countries, but the film mostly hones in on Polish-American communities, heavy on the tradition and with ties to the Catholic church. If polka is your jam, this'll be your film, as it's playing from beginning to end, and most of the footage seems to be of people hopping and swirling around, having fun, with occasional breaks to show things like how sausage is made (of course, right?).

For me the documentary was harmless enough, but the music and silly lyrics just didn't resonate, and I say that despite (or perhaps because of) growing up regularly hearing the "Beer Barrel Polka," which is referenced here. It brought a smile to my face when some who were interviewed commented on all the ethnicities present, when this was the whitest crowd possible, though to be fair they all seemed quite friendly, and were referring to different white Europeans. Despite the optimism presented four decades ago about how many young people were still making or enjoying polka music, I really wonder what the future of this art form will be, so even though it's not something I gravitate towards, I'm glad Blank captured it.

What? No reviews for this film as I write this? What a travesty! With a title like "In Heaven There is no Beer?", what else could this picture have been about but for the Polish dance tradition known as the polka. I actually caught this on Turner Classics along with some other virtually unknown musical documentaries and was quite entertained by them all. This one hearkens back to 1984, so it's already thirty years old, and while watching it looks almost like it could have been made in the 1950's. Not being critical here, the production company Flower Films almost certainly worked on a shoestring budget and did the best they could with what they had to work with.

Most of the picture seems to have been shot in Polish communities in Pennsylvania, with cameos by easily a dozen different polka bands. Of particular interest to me was whether the Polka King from Florida, New York (my home town) would show up, and sure enough, there he was leading the Jimmy Sturr Band about the middle of the picture with a Rock of Ages medley. Other notable names from the Polka community included Eddie Blazonczyk, Walt Solek, Marion Lush, and Dick Pillar, founder of the Silver Springs Polkabration. I know, I know, the names probably won't mean anything to the casual reader here, but for Polka fans, this is a veritable nostalgia trip down memory lane.

What certainly comes across in the documentary is the sense of community and identity that people of Polish background find by attending polka dances in their own towns, a tradition that seems to be maintaining it's popularity if I can judge by my own observations. I began polka dancing only a few short years ago, and it's a great way to have fun and get some exercise, especially when you start to get up there in age. Referring to my summary line above, I challenge anyone to find a person that isn't smiling while doing the polka.

Like the man sang - "Walter Cronkite's got the news, but he ain't got no polka shoes."