Fackham Hall – This Fast-Paced, Witty Parody of Downton Abbey Which Is Refreshingly Ephemeral.
Perhaps the sense of uncertain days around us: following a long period of inactivity, the comedic send-up is enjoying a comeback. This summer saw the rebirth of this lighthearted genre, which, at its best, lampoons the self-importance of overly serious genres with a flood of exaggerated stereotypes, visual jokes, and ridiculously smart wordplay.
Frivolous periods, apparently, beget deliberately shallow, joke-dense, pleasantly insubstantial amusement.
The Newest Offering in This Goofy Resurgence
The latest of these goofy parodies arrives as Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that needles the very pokeable pretensions of opulent British period dramas. The screenplay comes from UK-Irish comic Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has a wealth of material to draw from and wastes none of it.
Opening on a ludicrous start to a ludicrous finish, this entertaining silver-spoon romp fills every one of its hour and a half with puns and routines running the gamut from the puerile to the truly humorous.
A Pastiche of The Gentry and Staff
In the vein of Downton, Fackham Hall presents a spoof of extremely pompous aristocrats and excessively servile staff. The plot revolves around the incompetent Lord Davenport (brought to life by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his anti-reading wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their four sons in various unfortunate mishaps, their plans fall upon securing unions for their two girls.
The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has achieved the family goal of betrothal to the suitable first cousin, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). But once she pulls out, the burden transfers to the single elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a "dried-up husk already and and holds unladylike ideas about female autonomy.
Where the Comedy Works Best
The film achieves greater effect when sending up the suffocating expectations placed on early 20th-century females – a subject typically treated for earnest storytelling. The archetype of idealized femininity supplies the richest material for mockery.
The storyline, as is fitting for a deliberately silly parody, is of lesser importance to the bits. The writer keeps them maintaining an amiably humorous clip. The film features a killing, a bungled inquiry, and a star-crossed attraction involving the charming pickpocket Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
Limitations and Frivolous Amusement
It's all for harmless amusement, though that itself imposes restrictions. The dialed-up foolishness characteristic of the genre may tire quickly, and the comic fuel on this particular variety diminishes somewhere between sketch and feature.
After a while, audiences could long to go back to the world of (at least a modicum of) coherence. Yet, one must applaud a wholehearted devotion to this type of comedy. If we're going to entertain ourselves unto oblivion, it's preferable to laugh at it.
