A Look at Fackham Hall – A Brisk, Witty Downton Abbey Spoof Which Is Refreshingly Throwaway.
It could be the feeling of end times in the air: following a long period of dormancy, the comedic send-up is making a resurgence. The past few months witnessed the revival of this playful category, which, in its finest form, lampoons the self-importance of pompously earnest genre with a barrage of heightened tropes, visual jokes, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.
Unserious eras, so it goes, create an appetite for deliberately shallow, gag-packed, welcome light fun.
A Recent Offering in This Absurd Wave
The newest of these goofy parodies comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that needles the very pokeable self-importance of wealthy British period dramas. Co-written by stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the film has plenty of inspiration to work with and wastes none of it.
Starting with a ridiculous beginning to a outrageous finale, this enjoyable upper-class adventure packs all of its 97 minutes with jokes and bits that vary from the juvenile to the truly humorous.
A Send-Up of Upstairs, Downstairs
Much like Downton, Fackham Hall presents a caricature of very self-important aristocrats and excessively servile staff. The narrative revolves around the hapless Lord Davenport (played by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Having lost their four sons in a series of calamitous events, their plans fall upon securing unions for their offspring.
One daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the dynastic aim of an engagement to the right first cousin, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). However after she backs out, the burden transfers to the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a "dried-up husk of a woman" and and possesses radically progressive notions concerning women's independence.
The Film's Humor Lands Most Effectively
The parody fares much better when sending up the stifling norms imposed on Edwardian-era ladies – an area frequently explored for po-faced melodrama. The trope of proper, coveted femininity provides the most fertile punching bags.
The plot, as one would expect from a purposefully absurd parody, is secondary to the jokes. Carr keeps them maintaining a consistently comedic rate. There is a killing, a farcical probe, and an illicit love affair featuring the roguish street urchin Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
A Note on Frivolous Amusement
Everything is in lighthearted fun, though that itself comes with constraints. The amplified foolishness inherent to parody can wear quickly, and the comic fuel for this specific type runs out at the intersection of sketch and feature.
Eventually, you might wish to return to stories with (very slight) coherence. Yet, it's necessary to respect a sincere commitment to the craft. In an age where we might to entertain ourselves unto oblivion, let's at least see the funny side.
