Fackham Hall – This Fast-Paced, Funny Takeoff on Downton That's Refreshingly Lightweight.
Perhaps the feeling of an ending era around us: after years of quiet, the parody is making a return. The recent season observed the revival of this unserious film style, which, at its best, lampoons the pretensions of excessively solemn genres with a torrent of heightened tropes, physical comedy, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.
Playful eras, it seems, beget deliberately shallow, laugh-filled, refreshingly shallow fun.
The Newest Entry in This Absurd Trend
The newest of these absurd spoofs is Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that needles the very pokeable airs of wealthy English costume epics. Co-written by British-Irish comedian Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the film has plenty of source material to draw from and wastes none of it.
Starting with a ridiculous beginning all the way to its outrageous finale, this amusing upper-class adventure crams each of its hour and a half with gags and sketches that vary from the puerile up to the authentically hilarious.
A Mimicry of The Gentry and Staff
Much like Downton, Fackham Hall offers a spoof of very self-important the nobility and excessively servile staff. The narrative revolves around the incompetent Lord Davenport (played by a wonderfully pretentious Damian Lewis) and his literature-hating wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). After losing their children in various unfortunate mishaps, their plans now rest on marrying off their offspring.
The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has accomplished the dynastic aim of a promise to marry the right close relative, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). Yet after she pulls out, the burden transfers to the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a spinster at 23 and and possesses radically progressive ideas regarding female autonomy.
Its Comedy Lands Most Effectively
The film fares much better when sending up the stifling expectations imposed on Edwardian-era females – a subject often mined for self-serious drama. The stereotype of idealized ladylike behavior provides the most fertile punching bags.
The plot, as is fitting for an intentionally ridiculous spoof, takes a back seat to the bits. Carr delivers them coming at an amiably humorous rate. Included is a murder, a bungled inquiry, and a forbidden romance featuring the plucky pickpocket Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
A Note on Pure Silliness
The entire affair is in lighthearted fun, though that itself has limitations. The amplified absurdity of a spoof may tire after a while, and the entertainment value for this specific type expires somewhere between a skit and a full-length film.
Eventually, you might wish to go back to stories with (very slight) logic. Yet, one must applaud a genuine dedication to this type of comedy. In an age where we might to amuse ourselves to death, let's at least find the humor in it.
