There’s a good reason why people call Polish food critic Jacek Trocki (Jacek Poniedziałek) “the fat man”, and it has nothing to do with his size. Well, maybe just a little. Jacek is the kind of oversized personality who doesn’t just dominate a room, but an entire industry. Everywhere he goes, people are talking about him – and he’s always got an acidic reply ready.
In his world, Warsaw is Poland’s only city, and he’s that city’s only real food critic. While a gala awards ceremony is held up waiting for him to host (and accept a lifetime achievement award), he’s happy hanging around a gay bar flirting with the bartender. “Sometimes I like not being somewhere,” he says, while across town his replacement host Marta (Marta Malikowska) fires off insults into the crowd.
Writing columns, hosting a struggling cooking show, terrifying waitresses, filming commercials dressed as Santa Claus, drinking vodka for breakfast with random drunks; he’s living in the eye of a hurricane.
And then he has a stroke.
The Stroke starts out as a sharply satirical take on a certain kind of media personality. Jacek is a successful celebrity; he’s also self-absorbed, dismissive, isolated. Those around him are merely tools he uses to achieve his own ends – well, aside from a food truck proprietor (Konrad Eleryk), who seems to be the only cook in town he actually likes.
Food truck food appears to be one of the few things Jacek Trocki (Jacek Poniedziałek) is happy with. Credit: Viaplay
Before the stroke, there’s a sense that Jacek is always performing. His life is lived in public, fans around every corner. His television show is a fly-on-the-wall series built around him speaking his mind to camera, whether it’s about the troubles with toilets, sly digs at his guests, or going on about the old days with his boss (who really shouldn’t be drinking) Teresa (Ewa Skibinska).
It’s very much an insider’s take on the creative class. Which is no surprise, as series creator and screenwriter Pawel Demirski is a famous and widely translated Polish playwright with a shelf full of awards. He knows what he’s writing about, and those early scenes briskly and savagely paint a picture of a celebrity teetering at the top of his profession.
Before it all changes: Jacek Trocki (Jacek Poniedziałek) at work. Credit: Karolina Grabowska / Viaplay
But after the stroke, everything changes. Not just for Jacek either, as those around him come together to help him get (literally) back on his feet. Marta, her partner (Rafał Maćkowiak) and their trans daughter (played by Rafal’s son) were all set to leave Poland for a lengthy stay in Thailand. They’re the closest thing to family Jacek has – even if it takes the hospital a little while to realise it – and now it seems like their year-long break is going to be spent hanging around his sickbed.
After the stroke Jacek is transformed into an occasionally lecherous, sometimes foul-mouthed, tracksuit wearing parody of himself. It’s funny but never cruel; we’re often given glimpses of his new perspective, a world where words are blurry on the page, memories constantly intrude, and the one-time recontour is reduced to single-word sentences. Anyone who’s ever been told something they love is bad for them will sympathise with Jacek’s plight when his friends bring in the fancy food that’s been his life, only to be told by his doctor that not only can’t he have it, but that it’s why he’s in hospital in the first place.
Everything's different now: L-R Jacek Poniedzialek, Jerzy Bonczak, Anna Seniuk and Jan Sobolewski. Credit: Viaplay / Karolina Grabowska
Dealing with the new Jacek is a shock for his friends. It’s also a threat to their way of life. Some of them were relying on him for their livelihoods; Teresa needed him to keep her television network viable. Having to take care of him if he can’t go back to work is going to be a big burden… though if they’re able to find (and sell) the book he was working on, that might help cover a few bills. He’s still a food critic; maybe he can review hospital food?
His found family might not be the most traditional, but they clearly care about him. And in their way, so do his elderly and firmly old-fashioned parents (played by Polish cinema legends Anna Seniuk and Jerzy Bonczak). They come back into his life in his hour of need, only to discover that his life has been getting along fine without them. Well, until the stroke at least.
What now for Jacek Trocki (Jacek Poniedziałek)? Credit: Viaplay
And there’s another question. Does Jacek even want his old life back? Those around him might be keen for him to pick up the pieces and put them back together in the old familiar pattern, and there’s no denying that clawing back his old fame and status has its appeal – if only to stick it to those who’re glad to see him brought low.
But this is also a chance to make a new start. Whatever he decides, he’s convinced of one thing: the best is yet to come.
The Stroke is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
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The Stroke
series • drama • Polish
MA15+
series • drama • Polish
MA15+
GREAT POLISH DRAMA
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