Fackham Hall – This Fast-Paced, Funny Takeoff on Downton Which Is Delightfully Ephemeral.
Maybe the feeling of end times in the air: following a long period of quiet, the comedic send-up is staging a return. The recent season observed the rebirth of this unserious film style, which, in its finest form, lampoons the pretensions of excessively solemn genre with a barrage of heightened tropes, sight gags, and ridiculously smart wordplay.
Playful periods, apparently, create an appetite for deliberately shallow, laugh-filled, refreshingly shallow amusement.
The Newest Addition in This Silly Resurgence
The latest of these silly send-ups comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that needles the easily mockable self-importance of gilded British period dramas. The screenplay comes from stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has plenty of source material to mine and exploits every bit of it.
Starting with a ludicrous start and culminating in a outrageous finale, this enjoyable upper-class adventure crams every one of its 97 minutes with gags and sketches running the gamut from the childish up to the authentically hilarious.
A Mimicry of Upstairs, Downstairs
Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall presents a spoof of extremely pompous aristocrats and overly fawning staff. The story revolves around the feckless Lord Davenport (played by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their male heirs in various calamitous events, their hopes now rest on securing unions for their offspring.
The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has achieved the aristocratic objective of a promise to marry the suitable first cousin, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). However after she withdraws, the pressure transfers to the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a "dried-up husk of a woman" and and holds radically progressive beliefs about women's independence.
Its Laughs Succeeds
The parody achieves greater effect when satirizing the oppressive norms forced upon early 20th-century ladies – a topic frequently explored for earnest storytelling. The archetype of proper, coveted womanhood supplies the best punching bags.
The plot, as is fitting for a purposefully absurd send-up, is secondary to the jokes. Carr delivers them maintaining a pleasantly funny clip. Included is a killing, a bungled inquiry, and a forbidden romance involving the roguish pickpocket Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
A Note on Frivolous Amusement
The entire affair is in lighthearted fun, but that very quality imposes restrictions. The dialed-up foolishness inherent to parody may tire quickly, and the entertainment value in this instance runs out somewhere between a skit and a full-length film.
At a certain point, you might wish to go back to a realm of (very slight) reason. Nevertheless, it's necessary to applaud a genuine dedication to this type of comedy. In an age where we might to amuse ourselves relentlessly, we might as well laugh at it.