“Camera Cafe. New brewing” can be watched on Player from December 25, and subsequent episodes are systematically uploaded to the platform. From the beginning of 2024, you can also watch the series on TVN, but somehow it has completely escaped my attention until now. Meanwhile, the finale is already at the door. Without any major expectations, I watched the first episode for a test run and stopped watching a dozen or so episodes later because it was time to go to bed.
I didn’t expect much from “Camera Cafe”. I watched 12 episodes in a row
When “Camera Cafe” appeared on TVN in 2004, it was a revolution: short episodes (7-8 minutes each), shots shot only from one camera and an insight into the corporate world at the threshold of the 21st century. Tomasz Kot, who only later became “Skazany na bluesa”, and was cast as Maksymilian Skalski in the Polish version of “The Nanny”, was particularly delighted.
20 years later, there is no element of surprise anymore, but rather an accusation of rehashing old chops and comparing it to series such as “1670”, “Emigracja XD” or the Polish version of “The Office”. The joke is that, firstly, hardly anyone remembers the older version, and secondly – “Camera Cafe. New brewing” is made by more or less the same team as the film adaptation of Malcom XD’s book commissioned by Canal+ and the Polish “The Office”. The level of implementation is as good as possible, and the individual elements of the implementation are quite good.
“Znachor”, “Sami swoi”, “The Crown of Kings”, “Emigracja summarize the casting list for “Camera Cafe. New brewing”. Because, among others, these productions star actresses and actors who shine in front of just one camera of the French comedy format refreshed by Player/TVN after 20 years. It’s a tasty mix of different personalities and comedic talents that makes even the most obvious jokes and sketches a pleasure to watch. I watched 12 episodes in one evening and had a really good time.
Jokes are jokes. But this cast is a treasure
In “New Steaming” we follow employees of Kompostar, a Polish company selling natural fertilizers (which sounds like an introduction to another bar joke). Boss Jan (the wonderful Michał Czernecki in this edition) is a self-absorbed buffoon who, after three months of student exchange in the USA, loves everything from there, so he proudly displays the American coffee machine in the office. The catch is that employees have to buy the beans themselves, because the company only provides cow’s milk (there’s a whole skit about a petition for plant-based milk). As you can see, Jan is a typical Polish boss who tells his employees to do everything on one foot, does not want to give raises and has a conflict over competences with Mrs. Karolina (the fantastic Barbara Wypych), who has an equally high position as him. This one is a bit stiff and formal, but so charming. Her opposite is the party-going Ferret (recently known as Zośka from the new “Quack”, the amazing Anna Szymańczyk), who too often comes to work with a hangover and talks about Tinder dates.
He tries to somehow help Zosia, who has an unlucky crush on the withdrawn Sylwek (Bartłomiej Kasprzykowski with a parted hair and a Turkish sweater), who, despite being in her 30s, looks and behaves like an exemplary primary school student. This role was played by Justyna Ducka, who showed surprising hidden charisma and who had previously shone with her big eyes, among others, in “The Crown of Kings” and had great fun as a receptionist in “The Queen” with Andrzej Seweryn. Apart from the fact that her Zosia is very nice, she also loves animals and is the company’s “eco-terrorist”.
She has a hard time putting up with the lewd jokes of the salesman Roman, who embodies all the worst stereotypes about Polish men. He is brilliantly played by Adam Bobik, who proved that he is an energy bomb in the film “Sami swoi. Popocztek”. Viewers may also recognize him as the trickster Łuki from “The Office PL”. There, he walks around with his hair slicked back with gel, so it took me a while to realize it was the same actor. Roman is particularly fond of pranking the other salesman, Jacek. This is played with outstanding comedic timing by Mateusz Król, i.e. King Casimir the Great from “The Crown of Kings” and Kasztelan from the beer advertisement. I sincerely feel that this actor has a lot to offer and is not yet as recognized as he should be. In “Camera” he shows a character who is funny in his weaknesses, but he plays them seriously, which is why he is funny.
Dominika Kluzak is a solid company, so its Joanna is characterful and explosive, beautifully enhancing each of her scenes. She is a divorcée with two children, versed in office intrigues, and the company psychologist Sergiusz has a crush on her. This is played by Rafał Maćkowiak, who is perfectly irritating in corporate newspeak and may be even too convincing at times. However, my heart was stolen by Marcin Miodek, who portrays a certain Filipek. Just as in “Emigration I couldn’t forget that the cast of “Camera” also included Mikołaj Chroboczek, who gained my recognition as Wano in the previously mentioned “Emigration XD”. Here he captivates with his sedate authority and quiet, yet radiating strength.
An interesting fact is that the trickster Robertik, who conducts various not-so-legal businesses in Kompostar, is played with gusto by Radosław Kotarski, the showrunner and main scriptwriter of the entire series, who is also making his debut in this role. With gel in her hair, a shackle around her neck and in a rustling tracksuit, she looks completely different than we are used to. And I respect this departure from the image of an elegant man in a suit. And as it turns out, Kotarski played in the series as if by accident. There was no actor during the rehearsals, he read instead and it stayed that way because he did so convincingly.
The scripts with Kotarski were written by screenwriters who also had a hand in the Polish “The Office”, i.e. Łukasz Sychowicz, Mateusz Zimnowodzki and Mateusz Płochta. Mateusz Lewandowski and Marcin Sońta also joined. Together they built a coherent whole; although each 20-minute episode consists of several different sketches, they fit the characteristics of the individual characters outlined at the beginning. I’m not saying that all the jokes in the script are spot on or surprisingly fresh. I have the impression that this was, after all, tailored to the television imagination of the mainstream audience of comedy production, so many of the tropes are stereotypical. An idiot boss, an office idiot who annoys everyone around with his machismo jokes, too shy Zosia on the one hand, too liberated single woman on the other, etc. – we know it, it’s played often. Sure, sexist Roman’s jokes can be irritating, Ferret doesn’t necessarily have to be such a clichéd party girl, etc., but Bobik and Szymańczyk have so much charisma that even thinner punchlines can be delivered in a way that doesn’t make you feel embarrassed. Here, each cast member has something interesting to offer and it’s a shame to miss it.
The series itself doesn’t propose another revolution on the market, but it doesn’t really have to. Just as the film engineer Mamoń liked songs he already knows, in comedy, tested solutions often work. So it was played rather safe here. Even in an old baking tin, you can cook something at a decent level, which will allow you to have a nice time. It’s not like there are plenty of decently made comedy series in Poland, so it would be a shame to lose the potential of such a well-selected cast. History has shown more than once that certain projects develop over time, and there is still a lot of cool things that could be done here. Especially since Kotarski only made his debut as a showrunner. So I keep my fingers crossed for the project because it has potential. I recommend turning it on, even for casual entertainment, even if it’s just something playing in the background while you iron or paint by numbers.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
