A Look at Fackham Hall – A Rapid-Fire, Witty Parody of Downton Abbey Which Is Pleasantly Ephemeral.
Maybe the sense of uncertain days around us: after years of dormancy, the parody is staging a comeback. The past few months observed the rebirth of this playful category, which, when done well, lampoons the grandiosity of overly serious dramas with a barrage of heightened tropes, physical comedy, and stupid-clever puns.
Playful times, apparently, create an appetite for self-awarely frivolous, laugh-filled, refreshingly shallow entertainment.
The Latest Addition in This Absurd Resurgence
The most recent of these absurd spoofs comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a parody of Downton Abbey that needles the highly satirizable self-importance of wealthy English costume epics. Penned in part by stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and directed by Jim O'Hanlon, the feature has a wealth of source material to work with and uses all of it.
Starting with a ridiculous beginning to a outrageous finale, this amusing silver-spoon romp packs all of its runtime with jokes and bits that vary from the childish all the way to the genuinely funny.
A Pastiche of Upstairs, Downstairs
In the vein of Downton, Fackham Hall offers a caricature of overly dignified the nobility and excessively servile help. The story centers on the incompetent Lord Davenport (played by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his anti-reading wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). After losing their male heirs in various calamitous events, their plans are pinned on securing unions for their daughters.
The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has accomplished the family goal of an engagement to the appropriate first cousin, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). But once she backs out, the onus transfers to the single elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), described as an old maid at 23 and and possesses radically progressive notions regarding a woman's own mind.
Where the Comedy Succeeds
The film fares much better when satirizing the suffocating social constraints imposed on Edwardian-era ladies – an area often mined for self-serious drama. The archetype of idealized womanhood provides the richest material for mockery.
The storyline, as befitting a purposefully absurd spoof, takes a back seat to the gags. Carr delivers them maintaining a consistently comedic rate. Included is a killing, an incompetent investigation, and an illicit love affair between the plucky street urchin Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
Limitations and Frivolous Amusement
The entire affair is in lighthearted fun, however, this approach imposes restrictions. The amplified silliness inherent to parody might grate after a while, and the entertainment value on this particular variety runs out in the space between a skit and a full-length film.
After a while, you might wish to return to a realm of (at least a modicum of) logic. Nevertheless, you have to applaud a genuine dedication to this type of comedy. In an age where we might to entertain ourselves to death, it's preferable to see the funny side.
