A Look at Fackham Hall – A Brisk, Humorous Parody of Downton Abbey Which Is Refreshingly Ephemeral.
It could be the feeling of an ending era around us: following a long period of dormancy, the spoof is enjoying a comeback. The past few months saw the rebirth of this lighthearted genre, which, in its finest form, skewers the grandiosity of pompously earnest genres with a barrage of pitched clichés, physical comedy, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.
Playful periods, apparently, create an appetite for deliberately shallow, gag-packed, refreshingly shallow fun.
The Latest Entry in This Silly Resurgence
The latest of these goofy parodies comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a parody of Downton Abbey that needles the easily mockable airs of wealthy UK historical series. Co-written by UK-Irish comic Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has plenty of source material to mine and exploits every bit of it.
From a ridiculous beginning to a ludicrous finish, this enjoyable aristocratic caper packs each of its 97 minutes with jokes and bits that vary from the childish to the authentically hilarious.
A Mimicry of Upstairs, Downstairs
In the vein of Downton, Fackham Hall offers a spoof of extremely pompous rich people and excessively servile staff. The narrative centers on the incompetent Lord Davenport (brought to life by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his literature-hating wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Having lost their four sons in separate unfortunate mishaps, their hopes fall upon securing unions for their two girls.
The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the family goal of an engagement to the suitable close relative, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). However once she pulls out, the burden transfers to the single elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a "dried-up husk at 23 and and holds dangerously modern ideas about a woman's own mind.
Its Comedy Succeeds
The spoof achieves greater effect when joking about the oppressive norms forced upon early 20th-century women – an area often mined for earnest storytelling. The archetype of respectable, enviable ladylike behavior supplies the most fertile comic targets.
The plot, as befitting an intentionally ridiculous parody, takes a back seat to the bits. Carr keeps them coming at a pleasantly funny rate. There is a killing, an incompetent investigation, and an illicit love affair involving the plucky thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
Limitations and Pure Silliness
The entire affair is in the spirit of playful comedy, though that itself comes with constraints. The amplified silliness inherent to parody might grate quickly, and the entertainment value for this specific type runs out in the space between sketch and feature.
At a certain point, audiences could long to return to the world of (very slight) coherence. Yet, it's necessary to respect a genuine dedication to the craft. If we're going to entertain ourselves unto oblivion, we might as well see the funny side.
