A Look at Fackham Hall – A Rapid-Fire, Funny Takeoff on Downton That's Refreshingly Lightweight.

Maybe the notion of end times around us: subsequent to a lengthy span of dormancy, the spoof is staging a resurgence. The recent season observed the revival of this lighthearted genre, which, at its best, mocks the pretensions of pompously earnest genres with a barrage of heightened tropes, sight gags, and stupid-clever puns.

Unserious periods, apparently, give rise to deliberately shallow, joke-dense, welcome light amusement.

A Recent Offering in This Silly Resurgence

The latest of these goofy parodies arrives as Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that pokes fun at the very pokeable airs of wealthy English costume epics. The screenplay comes from stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and directed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has a wealth of inspiration to draw from and wastes none of it.

Opening on a absurd opening and culminating in a ludicrous finish, this amusing silver-spoon romp packs all of its hour and a half with gags and sketches that vary from the childish to the truly humorous.

A Send-Up of Aristocrats and Servants

Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall offers a spoof of overly dignified aristocrats and very obsequious staff. The plot focuses on the incompetent Lord Davenport (played by a delightfully mannered Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). After losing their four sons in various calamitous events, their aspirations are pinned on finding matches for their offspring.

The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the dynastic aim of betrothal to the suitable first cousin, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). However once she pulls out, the pressure shifts to the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered an old maid at 23 and and holds dangerously modern ideas concerning a woman's own mind.

Where the Laughs Succeeds

The spoof achieves greater effect when joking about the suffocating social constraints imposed on Edwardian-era women – an area frequently explored for earnest storytelling. The trope of proper, coveted womanhood provides the most fertile comic targets.

The plot, as is fitting for an intentionally ridiculous spoof, is secondary to the gags. The writer keeps them arriving at a consistently comedic pace. Included is a murder, a farcical probe, and a star-crossed attraction involving the charming street urchin Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.

Limitations and Lighthearted Fun

Everything is for harmless amusement, however, this approach has limitations. The heightened absurdity characteristic of the genre can wear after a while, and the comic fuel on this particular variety runs out at the intersection of a skit and a full-length film.

Eventually, audiences could long to go back to stories with (at least a modicum of) coherence. But, one must applaud a genuine dedication to the artform. Given that we are to entertain ourselves relentlessly, it's preferable to laugh at it.