A Look at Fackham Hall – A Brisk, Humorous Downton Abbey Spoof That's Delightfully Ephemeral.
Maybe the feeling of uncertain days in the air: after years of dormancy, the parody is enjoying a resurgence. The past few months observed the re-emergence of this playful category, which, when done well, mocks the pretensions of pompously earnest dramas with a barrage of exaggerated stereotypes, physical comedy, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.
Unserious times, apparently, give rise to deliberately shallow, laugh-filled, welcome light fun.
A Recent Addition in This Absurd Trend
The most recent of these silly send-ups is Fackham Hall, a parody of Downton Abbey that jabs at the highly satirizable airs of wealthy UK historical series. The screenplay comes from stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie finds ample of material to mine and exploits every bit of it.
From a absurd opening to a ludicrous finish, this amusing silver-spoon romp packs each of its 97 minutes with jokes and bits running the gamut from the childish up to the truly humorous.
A Pastiche of The Gentry and Staff
In the vein of Downton, Fackham Hall delivers a spoof of very self-important aristocrats and very obsequious servants. The story centers on the hapless Lord Davenport (portrayed by a delightfully mannered Damian Lewis) and his literature-hating wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Having lost their male heirs in a series of calamitous events, their aspirations fall upon marrying off their offspring.
The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has accomplished the family goal of a promise to marry the appropriate close relative, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). But after she pulls out, the pressure transfers to the single elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is an old maid of a woman" and and possesses radically progressive ideas concerning a woman's own mind.
The Film's Humor Succeeds
The film is significantly more successful when sending up the oppressive expectations placed on pre-war ladies – a topic often mined for earnest storytelling. The trope of respectable, enviable womanhood offers the richest punching bags.
The plot, as is fitting for a purposefully absurd spoof, is secondary to the gags. The co-writer keeps them arriving at a pleasantly funny clip. The film features a murder, an incompetent investigation, and an illicit love affair involving the roguish pickpocket Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
Limitations and Lighthearted Fun
Everything is in lighthearted fun, though that itself has limitations. The dialed-up foolishness of a spoof might grate quickly, and the mileage for this specific type runs out somewhere between a skit and a full-length film.
At a certain point, you might wish to return to the world of (at least a modicum of) coherence. Nevertheless, you have to admire a wholehearted devotion to the artform. Given that we are to amuse ourselves unto oblivion, we might as well laugh at it.
