Fackham Hall Review – A Fast-Paced, Witty Downton Abbey Spoof Which Is Pleasantly Throwaway.

Maybe the sense of an ending era in the air: subsequent to a lengthy span of quiet, the parody is making a return. This summer observed the revival of this playful category, which, in its finest form, mocks the grandiosity of excessively solemn dramas with a barrage of heightened tropes, sight gags, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.

Frivolous periods, so it goes, beget deliberately shallow, laugh-filled, refreshingly shallow fun.

The Latest Entry in This Absurd Trend

The most recent of these goofy parodies is Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that pokes fun at the very pokeable airs of wealthy UK historical series. The screenplay comes from stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has plenty of inspiration to work with and uses all of it.

Opening on a ridiculous beginning to a preposterous conclusion, this enjoyable upper-class adventure packs each of its hour and a half with jokes and bits that vary from the puerile to the authentically hilarious.

A Send-Up of Upstairs, Downstairs

Much like Downton, Fackham Hall presents a spoof of very self-important aristocrats and very obsequious servants. The plot focuses on the incompetent Lord Davenport (played by a wonderfully pretentious Damian Lewis) and his anti-reading wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their four sons in various calamitous events, their plans fall upon finding matches for their daughters.

One daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has accomplished the family goal of an engagement to the suitable close relative, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). Yet once she withdraws, the burden shifts to the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered a spinster of a woman" and and possesses dangerously modern ideas about a woman's own mind.

Where the Humor Lands Most Effectively

The film is significantly more successful when joking about the suffocating expectations imposed on early 20th-century females – a subject frequently explored for self-serious drama. The stereotype of proper, coveted femininity provides the richest material for mockery.

The storyline, as befitting an intentionally ridiculous send-up, is secondary to the gags. The co-writer serves them up maintaining a consistently comedic rate. The film features a murder, a bungled inquiry, and a star-crossed attraction involving the roguish thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.

A Note on Pure Silliness

Everything is in lighthearted fun, but that very quality imposes restrictions. The heightened foolishness characteristic of the genre may tire after a while, and the mileage on this particular variety diminishes in the space between sketch and a full-length film.

After a while, one may desire to return to stories with (very slight) coherence. But, one must admire a genuine dedication to the craft. Given that we are to amuse ourselves unto oblivion, let's at least see the funny side.