Fackham Hall – A Rapid-Fire, Humorous Downton Abbey Spoof Which Is Pleasantly Ephemeral.

Maybe the feeling of uncertain days in the air: following a long period of dormancy, the spoof is enjoying a resurgence. This summer witnessed the revival of this lighthearted genre, which, at its best, skewers the grandiosity of overly serious genres with a flood of exaggerated stereotypes, sight gags, and stupid-clever puns.

Unserious eras, apparently, give rise to deliberately shallow, laugh-filled, refreshingly shallow entertainment.

A Recent Offering in This Goofy Trend

The most recent of these goofy parodies is Fackham Hall, a parody of Downton Abbey that pokes fun at the highly satirizable self-importance of wealthy English costume epics. Penned in part by British-Irish comedian Jimmy Carr and directed by Jim O'Hanlon, the film finds ample of inspiration to mine and exploits every bit of it.

Starting with a absurd opening all the way to its outrageous finale, this entertaining silver-spoon romp crams every one of its runtime with gags and sketches running the gamut from the childish up to the authentically hilarious.

A Send-Up of The Gentry and Staff

Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall presents a pastiche of overly dignified rich people and overly fawning help. The story revolves around the hapless Lord Davenport (brought to life by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his literature-hating wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their male heirs in various calamitous events, their plans now rest on marrying off their daughters.

The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has accomplished the dynastic aim of an engagement to the suitable kinsman, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). Yet after she pulls out, the burden falls upon the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a spinster of a woman" and who harbors unladylike beliefs concerning a woman's own mind.

The Film's Humor Works Best

The spoof fares much better when joking about the suffocating social constraints forced upon Edwardian-era ladies – a topic frequently explored for po-faced melodrama. The stereotype of proper, coveted ladylike behavior supplies the best comic targets.

The narrative thread, as is fitting for a purposefully absurd parody, takes a back seat to the jokes. Carr serves them up arriving at an amiably humorous clip. There is a murder, a bungled inquiry, and an illicit love affair featuring the roguish thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.

Limitations and Pure Silliness

The entire affair is in lighthearted fun, though that itself comes with constraints. The amplified absurdity characteristic of the genre might grate over time, and the mileage for this specific type diminishes at the intersection of sketch and a full-length film.

After a while, you might wish to retreat to a realm of (very slight) reason. But, one must applaud a wholehearted devotion to the craft. If we're going to amuse ourselves to death, it's preferable to see the funny side.