Fackham Hall – A Rapid-Fire, Humorous Downton Abbey Spoof Which Is Refreshingly Lightweight.
Perhaps the sense of end times around us: following a long period of dormancy, the comedic send-up is making a comeback. The recent season observed the re-emergence of this unserious film style, which, in its finest form, lampoons the grandiosity of excessively solemn genres with a torrent of pitched clichés, physical comedy, and ridiculously smart wordplay.
Frivolous periods, apparently, beget deliberately shallow, joke-dense, welcome light fun.
The Latest Entry in This Absurd Trend
The newest of these absurd spoofs arrives as Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that jabs at the easily mockable self-importance of wealthy British period dramas. Co-written by UK-Irish comic Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has plenty of material to work with and exploits every bit of it.
Starting with a ridiculous beginning and culminating in a preposterous conclusion, this amusing silver-spoon romp packs every one of its runtime with jokes and bits that vary from the juvenile to the authentically hilarious.
A Pastiche of The Gentry and Staff
Much like Downton, Fackham Hall presents a pastiche of overly dignified rich people and excessively servile servants. The plot focuses on the hapless Lord Davenport (brought to life by a delightfully mannered 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 two girls.
The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has achieved the dynastic aim of betrothal to the suitable kinsman, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). Yet after she pulls out, the onus shifts to the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered an old maid at 23 and and possesses unladylike beliefs regarding women's independence.
Its Humor Works Best
The spoof fares much better when sending up the suffocating norms imposed on pre-war females – an area frequently explored for self-serious drama. The trope of respectable, enviable ladylike behavior supplies the best material for mockery.
The storyline, as is fitting for a deliberately silly parody, takes a back seat to the jokes. The co-writer delivers them maintaining a consistently comedic rate. The film features a murder, a farcical probe, and a forbidden romance between the plucky thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
Limitations and Lighthearted Fun
The entire affair is for harmless amusement, however, this approach imposes restrictions. The dialed-up foolishness of a spoof might grate quickly, and the mileage for this specific type runs out somewhere between sketch and a full-length film.
Eventually, you might wish to go back to stories with (very slight) logic. Nevertheless, one must admire a wholehearted devotion to the craft. Given that we are to distract ourselves unto oblivion, it's preferable to laugh at it.
