A Look at Fackham Hall – A Brisk, Funny Downton Abbey Spoof Which Is Delightfully Lightweight.
It could be the feeling of end times pervading: after years of dormancy, the spoof is making a comeback. The recent season observed the re-emergence of this playful category, which, when done well, lampoons the pretensions of overly serious genre with a flood of heightened tropes, physical comedy, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.
Frivolous eras, it seems, give rise to self-awarely frivolous, joke-dense, welcome light fun.
The Newest Entry in This Goofy Trend
The latest of these goofy parodies is Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that needles the highly satirizable pretensions of opulent British period dramas. Co-written by UK-Irish comic Jimmy Carr and directed by Jim O'Hanlon, the feature has a wealth of material to draw from and wastes none of it.
Starting with a ludicrous start all the way to its preposterous conclusion, this enjoyable upper-class adventure crams every one of its 97 minutes with jokes and bits that vary from the juvenile up to the genuinely funny.
A Send-Up of The Gentry and Staff
Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall presents a pastiche of overly dignified aristocrats and excessively servile staff. The story centers on the feckless Lord Davenport (brought to life by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his anti-reading wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Having lost their children in separate calamitous events, their plans are pinned on securing unions for their two girls.
The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has accomplished the family goal of a promise to marry the suitable first cousin, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). But when she withdraws, the burden shifts to the single elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), described as a spinster at 23 and who harbors unladylike beliefs concerning women's independence.
Its Laughs Works Best
The parody is significantly more successful when sending up the stifling expectations placed on pre-war women – a topic typically treated for earnest storytelling. The trope of proper, coveted womanhood provides the most fertile comic targets.
The plot, as one would expect from a deliberately silly send-up, is secondary to the gags. The writer delivers them arriving at an amiably humorous pace. Included is a homicide, a bungled inquiry, and a forbidden romance featuring the roguish pickpocket Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
Limitations and Pure Silliness
Everything is for harmless amusement, however, this approach comes with constraints. The amplified absurdity of a spoof can wear quickly, and the comic fuel for this specific type expires somewhere between sketch and a full-length film.
At a certain point, audiences could long to go back to stories with (at least a modicum of) logic. But, it's necessary to admire a genuine dedication to the craft. Given that we are to amuse ourselves to death, it's preferable to see the funny side.
