Fackham Hall – A Rapid-Fire, Humorous Parody of Downton Abbey That's Refreshingly Throwaway.

Perhaps the notion of an ending era pervading: subsequent to a lengthy span of dormancy, the parody is enjoying a return. The recent season saw the revival of this lighthearted genre, which, at its best, lampoons the pretensions of overly serious genres with a torrent of exaggerated stereotypes, sight gags, and stupid-clever puns.

Frivolous eras, it seems, give rise to deliberately shallow, laugh-filled, refreshingly shallow entertainment.

The Latest Addition in This Silly Trend

The newest of these absurd spoofs is Fackham Hall, a parody of Downton Abbey that jabs at the easily mockable pretensions of gilded UK historical series. The screenplay comes from stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has plenty of material to draw from and uses all of it.

From a ridiculous beginning to a outrageous finale, this enjoyable silver-spoon romp crams each of its hour and a half with jokes and bits running the gamut from the puerile to the truly humorous.

A Pastiche of Aristocrats and Servants

Much like Downton, Fackham Hall presents a caricature of extremely pompous the nobility and very obsequious help. The narrative revolves around the incompetent Lord Davenport (brought to life by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Having lost their four sons in various unfortunate mishaps, their hopes are pinned on finding matches for their daughters.

The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has achieved the family goal of betrothal to the right kinsman, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). But once she backs out, the burden falls upon the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a spinster already and and holds unladylike ideas concerning women's independence.

Its Humor Succeeds

The parody achieves greater effect when sending up the stifling norms placed on Edwardian-era women – a subject typically treated for po-faced melodrama. The trope of proper, coveted womanhood supplies the richest comic targets.

The narrative thread, as befitting a purposefully absurd spoof, is of lesser importance to the bits. The writer delivers them coming at a consistently comedic rate. There is a homicide, an incompetent investigation, and a star-crossed attraction between the roguish thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.

Limitations and Frivolous Amusement

The entire affair is in the spirit of playful comedy, though that itself has limitations. The amplified absurdity inherent to parody may tire after a while, and the mileage for this specific type runs out at the intersection of a skit and feature.

After a while, audiences could long to retreat to a realm of (at least a modicum of) reason. Nevertheless, it's necessary to respect a wholehearted devotion to this type of comedy. In an age where we might to entertain ourselves unto oblivion, let's at least find the humor in it.