🔗 Share this article Fackham Hall Review – This Brisk, Witty Parody of Downton Abbey Which Is Delightfully Lightweight. Maybe the sense of an ending era around us: following a long period of quiet, the comedic send-up is making a return. The recent season witnessed the rebirth of this lighthearted genre, which, when done well, lampoons the self-importance of pompously earnest dramas with a flood of heightened tropes, sight gags, and dumb-brilliant double entendres. Playful times, it seems, give rise to deliberately shallow, gag-packed, refreshingly shallow amusement. The Latest Addition in This Absurd Trend The most recent of these goofy parodies is Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that needles the highly satirizable airs of wealthy English costume epics. Penned in part by stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has plenty of material to work with and exploits every bit of it. Opening on a ludicrous start and culminating in a preposterous conclusion, this amusing upper-class adventure crams each of its hour and a half with puns and routines running the gamut from the juvenile to the authentically hilarious. A Mimicry of Upstairs, Downstairs Much like Downton, Fackham Hall offers a pastiche of very self-important the nobility and excessively servile staff. The narrative centers on the hapless Lord Davenport (played by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his literature-hating wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). After losing their male heirs in various calamitous events, their hopes now rest on marrying off their offspring. The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has achieved the family goal of a promise to marry the appropriate close relative, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). Yet once she backs out, the pressure transfers to the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered a spinster already and and possesses unladylike beliefs about women's independence. The Film's Laughs Works Best The film fares much better when sending up the oppressive norms imposed on Edwardian-era females – a topic frequently explored for self-serious drama. The stereotype of respectable, enviable ladylike behavior supplies the most fertile punching bags. The plot, as befitting a deliberately silly parody, takes a back seat to the bits. The co-writer delivers them arriving at a consistently comedic clip. There is a murder, a bungled inquiry, and a forbidden romance between the charming thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose. Limitations and Pure Silliness It's all for harmless amusement, but that very quality has limitations. The amplified absurdity characteristic of the genre can wear over time, and the entertainment value for this specific type expires at the intersection of a skit and feature. Eventually, audiences could long to go back to stories with (at least a modicum of) logic. Yet, you have to applaud a genuine dedication to this type of comedy. Given that we are to amuse ourselves relentlessly, let's at least find the humor in it.
Maybe the sense of an ending era around us: following a long period of quiet, the comedic send-up is making a return. The recent season witnessed the rebirth of this lighthearted genre, which, when done well, lampoons the self-importance of pompously earnest dramas with a flood of heightened tropes, sight gags, and dumb-brilliant double entendres. Playful times, it seems, give rise to deliberately shallow, gag-packed, refreshingly shallow amusement. The Latest Addition in This Absurd Trend The most recent of these goofy parodies is Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that needles the highly satirizable airs of wealthy English costume epics. Penned in part by stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has plenty of material to work with and exploits every bit of it. Opening on a ludicrous start and culminating in a preposterous conclusion, this amusing upper-class adventure crams each of its hour and a half with puns and routines running the gamut from the juvenile to the authentically hilarious. A Mimicry of Upstairs, Downstairs Much like Downton, Fackham Hall offers a pastiche of very self-important the nobility and excessively servile staff. The narrative centers on the hapless Lord Davenport (played by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his literature-hating wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). After losing their male heirs in various calamitous events, their hopes now rest on marrying off their offspring. The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has achieved the family goal of a promise to marry the appropriate close relative, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). Yet once she backs out, the pressure transfers to the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered a spinster already and and possesses unladylike beliefs about women's independence. The Film's Laughs Works Best The film fares much better when sending up the oppressive norms imposed on Edwardian-era females – a topic frequently explored for self-serious drama. The stereotype of respectable, enviable ladylike behavior supplies the most fertile punching bags. The plot, as befitting a deliberately silly parody, takes a back seat to the bits. The co-writer delivers them arriving at a consistently comedic clip. There is a murder, a bungled inquiry, and a forbidden romance between the charming thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose. Limitations and Pure Silliness It's all for harmless amusement, but that very quality has limitations. The amplified absurdity characteristic of the genre can wear over time, and the entertainment value for this specific type expires at the intersection of a skit and feature. Eventually, audiences could long to go back to stories with (at least a modicum of) logic. Yet, you have to applaud a genuine dedication to this type of comedy. Given that we are to amuse ourselves relentlessly, let's at least find the humor in it.