I doubted the sense of making “Kogla Mogla 5”. Well, I was surprised [RECENZJA]

Without much emotion or hope, I went to see “Baby Boom, or 5”. I had the impression that the fourth part concluded the Wolański and Zawady saga so that there was little that could be done in this universe. After all, there was a grand finale with a mass wedding ceremony, and several cast members died in the process. Meanwhile, it turned out that someone had rightly decided to devote the new film mainly to the more supporting characters of Piotruś (simply delightful in this version) and Marlenka (wonderfully comedic) Wolański, and at the same time her mother, Americanized to the point of comicality (EXCELLENT) and to her newly married Leopold Kapusta (sincerely amused by his role). They are such a joyful ensemble here that it doesn’t hurt that Ewa Kasprzyk is missing from the cast, as she has come to the conclusion that the “Kogel” formula has rather exhausted itself for her character. The scriptwriters cleverly dealt with this absence and the ex-docent appears often, but by phone. This has an appropriately satirical tone.

Was it worth filming “Baby boom, or Kogel Mogel 5”? [RECENZJA]

Let’s outline the general plan of events of the new comedy. As the title suggests, the new part of “Kogla Mogla” is devoted to parenting. Agnieszka (definitely more relaxed than Aleksandra Hamkało before) and Marcin (a slightly confused or absent-minded Nikodem Rozbicki) unexpectedly find out that they are going to have a child. They seem to be happy, but after giving birth, the new father goes through a crisis because he gave birth in the delivery room, Agnieszka is exhausted and the baby is screaming. Piotruś, on the other hand, is surprisingly good at playing the role of uncle and guardian, who, to the surprise of those around him and his own, acts a bit like a hypnotist on little Winnie the Pooh. A wild fatherly instinct awakens in him, which in turn worries Marlenka due to biological obstacles. However, he approaches the matter with an open heart and wild ingenuity, which may end in a strange way. As if that were not enough, a mysterious blessed woman appears on the horizon, looking for the father of her child and has strong reasons to look for him among the Wolański and Zawady families.

There are also various amusing side plots, e.g. the issue of Marlenka and Piotruś moving. They buy a suburban noble manor house where they live with Marlenka’s mother and her husband. The new headquarters requires appropriate furniture, as well as a proper portrait of the ancestor – this is a charming reference to one of the episodes of “The 40-Year-Old”, in which engineer Karwowski, after getting a promotion and renovating his apartment, which must reflect his new social position, also had to create such a portrait of a hypothetical ancestor hang. Thanks to the absolute good nature and endearing naivety of Marlenka and Piotruś, the screenwriters managed to make very nice jokes about the behavior typical of “nouveau riche” families who unexpectedly find their family coats of arms.

Still from the film ‘Baby boom, or Kogel Mogel 5’ / photo: Karina Szymczuk / Distributor’s materials Next Film

I was captivated by how the dialogues used the theme of Piotruś’s fascination with philosophy and how, theoretically, by throwing texts proving the potential stupidity of their characters, Skrzynecka and Zaświaty make them actually characters for whom I feel a lot of sympathy. The scenography and costumes departments undoubtedly had a lot of fun at work. All interiors and actors’ costumes are prepared with impressive detail, panache and maintaining the appropriate character. And so: Agnieszka and Marcin’s Warsaw apartment is a modern, cozy and rather unpretentious place in its decor, Kasia and docent Marian’s country house is, of course, a refuge of idyllic bucolic character, and in Mrs. Goździkowa’s we see the interior of a truly rural house, judging by the wallpapers and kitchen cabinets. somewhere between the 80’s and 90’s and the early 0’s. Marlenka and Piotruś’s manor house is, of course, a real rollercoaster: marble, gold, stones, purple wallpapers, gold candlesticks, family silver, chaise longues, louis, etc.

Marlenka and her mother’s costumes are also a real treat: long dresses with animal patterns of all kinds, with particular emphasis on spots, high-heeled stilettos, brocades, taffeta, flashy make-up, lots of gold jewelry and self-tanner, dangerously long nail tips and so thick false eyelashes, that I wonder how on earth Katarzyna Skrzynecka managed to open her eyes. I also see a certain change in the image of Piotruś, who in his new version no longer dresses in luxurious tracksuits, but rather in airy salwar pants, patterned and airy shirts suggesting a deeper interest in Eastern culture. I would also like to take this opportunity to say that what I envy most of all is the elegant pajamas with purple goo in the film’s Piotruś, which he wears in several major scenes. I would wear one myself.

If I had to complain, it would be, for example, that the topic of Agnieszka and Marcin’s family crisis after giving birth is very far-fetched, and the way they apologize to each other – even more so; I’m still not convinced by the romantic relationship between Kasia and docent Wolański, although Zdzisław Wardejn clearly had a great time on the set. The dialogues of Mrs. Goździkowa, played wonderfully by Małgorzata Rożniatowska, are written in too correct Polish, and some jokes in the film seem to be added just to add some fun. This is a nitpick, but Nikodem Rozbicki’s hair looks suspicious at the beginning of the film – as if he dyed it or wore a wig because he had a haircut in the meantime and on-screen continuity was needed.

“Kogel Mogel” is almost the longest cinema series in Poland

“Kogel Mogel” and “Letters to M.” These are currently probably the two longest Polish film series – both have five parts and both are based on specific patterns, they actually resemble something like cinema series. The difference is that the first two “Kogle” were made in the 1980s, and the new version of the film story about Wolański and Kasia Zawada turned up the screws when it comes to humor based on exaggerations and the fast pace typical of farce and free comedy scenes. I would even count them separately and treat them as a trilogy loosely related to old films, rather than an iron and concrete sequel. To remove the odium of ideas about what these films should be and what they shouldn’t be. Because if she decided on this and no other direction in creating the presented world and conducting dialogues, and the scriptwriters of “Baby Boom” continue it successfully, it means that there is nothing to be offended about it and that it works.

Still from the film ‘Baby boom, or Kogel Mogel 5’ / photo: Karina Szymczuk / Distributor’s materials Next Film

Of course, you can judge these new parts of the “Kogel Mogel” series as having no respect and faith, complain that they are a money grab, or even claim that good actors are wasted there, and possibly be indignant that someone finds these types of jokes funny. In fact, you can also feel like a person with more refined taste. But let’s not forbid others from having fun at a casual, light and cheerful session. Because all the outrage about the “unworthiness of the originals” will not change the fact that viewers watch these subsequent parts in such large numbers (a total of 3,153,187 tickets were sold for the two previous titles) that new ones are being created and that this is pure genre cinema, made efficiently and pleasing to the eye. way.

The creators promote the film “Baby boom, or Kogel Mogel 5” with the slogan “Comedy just like it used to be”. Somewhat yes, some no – it is a classic farce in many respects, but it is set largely in new realities, which may cause some cognitive dissonance for some. I think that the joyfully kitschy world of the nouveau riche, but also impossibly funny and beloved Marlenka Wolańska, is too shameless in its colorful and brilliant splendor for some people to believe that they should laugh at it in a way other than mockingly. Well, if someone likes to be tense, it’s hard to forbid or stop them.