Fackham Hall Review – This Fast-Paced, Funny Downton Abbey Spoof That's Refreshingly Lightweight.

It could be the feeling of end times around us: subsequent to a lengthy span of dormancy, the parody is staging a return. The recent season observed the rebirth of this playful category, which, in its finest form, lampoons the grandiosity of overly serious genres with a flood of pitched clichés, sight gags, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.

Frivolous times, so it goes, give rise to self-awarely frivolous, gag-packed, refreshingly shallow fun.

The Latest Addition in This Absurd Trend

The latest of these goofy parodies is Fackham Hall, a parody of Downton Abbey that needles the easily mockable pretensions of wealthy UK historical series. Penned in part by British-Irish comedian Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the film finds ample of source material to work with and uses all of it.

Starting with a ridiculous beginning all the way to its ludicrous finish, this amusing silver-spoon romp packs all of its runtime with gags and sketches running the gamut from the childish up to the truly humorous.

A Mimicry of Upstairs, Downstairs

In the vein of Downton, Fackham Hall offers a spoof of extremely pompous the nobility and overly fawning staff. The plot revolves around the feckless Lord Davenport (played by a wonderfully pretentious Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their four sons in a series of tragic accidents, their hopes fall upon finding matches for their two girls.

The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the family goal of an engagement to the appropriate first cousin, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). However once she pulls out, the pressure falls upon the single elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered a spinster at 23 and who harbors dangerously modern ideas concerning female autonomy.

The Film's Comedy Succeeds

The spoof is significantly more successful when sending up the oppressive expectations imposed on Edwardian-era females – a subject often mined for self-serious drama. The archetype of proper, coveted femininity supplies the best punching bags.

The storyline, as one would expect from a deliberately silly send-up, is of lesser importance to the bits. The writer delivers them maintaining a consistently comedic pace. Included is a killing, a bungled inquiry, and a star-crossed attraction involving the plucky thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.

Limitations and Frivolous Amusement

The entire affair is in the spirit of playful comedy, but that very quality has limitations. The heightened absurdity of a spoof may tire after a while, and the entertainment value on this particular variety runs out in the space between a skit and feature.

At a certain point, audiences could long to go back to a realm of (very slight) coherence. Nevertheless, one must respect a sincere commitment to the craft. In an age where we might to distract ourselves to death, it's preferable to laugh at it.