Fackham Hall – This Rapid-Fire, Witty Parody of Downton Abbey Which Is Refreshingly Throwaway.
It could be the sense of uncertain days around us: following a long period of quiet, the spoof is making a resurgence. This summer saw the re-emergence of this playful category, which, in its finest form, lampoons the self-importance of overly serious dramas with a flood of pitched clichés, physical comedy, and ridiculously smart wordplay.
Playful periods, so it goes, beget knowingly unserious, joke-dense, welcome light entertainment.
A Recent Addition in This Absurd Trend
The most recent of these goofy parodies is Fackham Hall, a parody of Downton Abbey that needles the easily mockable self-importance of opulent English costume epics. The screenplay comes from British-Irish comedian Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the film finds ample of source material to mine and wastes none of it.
Opening on a absurd opening all the way to its ludicrous finish, this entertaining aristocratic caper crams each of its 97 minutes with jokes and bits that vary from the puerile all the way to the truly humorous.
A Mimicry of Aristocrats and Servants
In the vein of Downton, Fackham Hall offers a spoof of extremely pompous the nobility and excessively servile help. The story revolves around the hapless Lord Davenport (brought to life by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Having lost their four sons in separate calamitous events, their aspirations fall upon finding matches for their two girls.
One daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the aristocratic objective of a promise to marry the appropriate close relative, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). But when she backs out, the pressure shifts to the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a spinster at 23 and and possesses dangerously modern ideas about a woman's own mind.
The Film's Comedy Succeeds
The parody is significantly more successful when sending up the suffocating expectations imposed on early 20th-century women – a topic typically treated for self-serious drama. The stereotype of respectable, enviable ladylike behavior offers the best material for mockery.
The storyline, as is fitting for a deliberately silly parody, takes a back seat to the gags. The writer keeps them coming at a pleasantly funny clip. The film features a killing, a farcical probe, and a star-crossed attraction featuring the roguish pickpocket Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
A Note on Lighthearted Fun
It's all in lighthearted fun, however, this approach has limitations. The heightened silliness inherent to parody can wear over time, and the entertainment value for this specific type diminishes in the space between a skit and a full-length film.
After a while, audiences could long to retreat to a realm of (very slight) logic. But, one must admire a wholehearted devotion to this type of comedy. Given that we are to distract ourselves unto oblivion, let's at least find the humor in it.
