Fackham Hall – This Brisk, Humorous Downton Abbey Spoof That's Delightfully Throwaway.

Perhaps the notion of uncertain days pervading: subsequent to a lengthy span of quiet, the spoof is making a return. The past few months witnessed the revival of this unserious film style, which, at its best, mocks the grandiosity of excessively solemn dramas with a torrent of heightened tropes, visual jokes, and ridiculously smart wordplay.

Frivolous periods, it seems, beget self-awarely frivolous, laugh-filled, refreshingly shallow fun.

The Newest Offering in This Silly Trend

The most recent of these goofy parodies comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that jabs at the easily mockable self-importance of opulent British period dramas. The screenplay comes from British-Irish comedian Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the film has a wealth of source material to work with and wastes none of it.

From a ludicrous start and culminating in a outrageous finale, this entertaining upper-class adventure crams all of its runtime with puns and routines running the gamut from the childish up to the truly humorous.

A Pastiche of The Gentry and Staff

Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall delivers a caricature of very self-important rich people and overly fawning servants. The narrative centers on the hapless Lord Davenport (played by a wonderfully pretentious Damian Lewis) and his anti-reading wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Having lost their four sons in separate unfortunate mishaps, their hopes are pinned on securing unions for their daughters.

The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the dynastic aim of an engagement to the right kinsman, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). However when she backs out, the pressure falls upon the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered an old maid of a woman" and who harbors dangerously modern ideas regarding women's independence.

Its Comedy Succeeds

The parody achieves greater effect when satirizing the stifling norms imposed on pre-war women – an area typically treated for earnest storytelling. The trope of respectable, enviable femininity provides the richest comic targets.

The plot, as is fitting for a deliberately silly parody, is of lesser importance to the gags. The co-writer serves them up arriving at a pleasantly funny rate. Included is a homicide, a farcical probe, and a star-crossed attraction featuring the plucky street urchin Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.

A Note on Lighthearted Fun

It's all for harmless amusement, however, this approach imposes restrictions. The amplified absurdity inherent to parody might grate after a while, and the mileage for this specific type runs out somewhere between sketch and a full-length film.

Eventually, one may desire to retreat to the world of (at least a modicum of) logic. But, it's necessary to applaud a genuine dedication to the artform. Given that we are to amuse ourselves relentlessly, let's at least find the humor in it.