🔗 Share this article Fackham Hall Review – This Fast-Paced, Funny Parody of Downton Abbey Which Is Delightfully Ephemeral. Perhaps the feeling of an ending era in the air: subsequent to a lengthy span of inactivity, the parody is enjoying a comeback. The past few months saw the revival of this lighthearted genre, which, when done well, lampoons the pretensions of excessively solemn genres with a torrent of heightened tropes, physical comedy, and ridiculously smart wordplay. Frivolous times, it seems, beget knowingly unserious, joke-dense, refreshingly shallow entertainment. The Newest Addition in This Goofy Resurgence The most recent of these silly send-ups comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that jabs at the highly satirizable airs of opulent UK historical series. Penned in part by stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the feature finds ample of material to work with and exploits every bit of it. Opening on a absurd opening and culminating in a preposterous conclusion, this amusing silver-spoon romp fills every one of its 97 minutes with gags and sketches running the gamut from the childish to the genuinely funny. A Mimicry of Aristocrats and Servants In the vein of Downton, Fackham Hall presents a spoof of extremely pompous the nobility and very obsequious staff. The plot focuses on 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 male heirs in a series of calamitous events, their hopes now rest on securing unions for their daughters. The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has achieved the family goal of an engagement to the right first cousin, Archibald (an impeccably slimy Tom Felton). But after she withdraws, the burden transfers to the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a "dried-up husk already and and holds unladylike notions regarding female autonomy. The Film's Laughs Lands Most Effectively The parody fares much better when sending up the stifling norms placed on early 20th-century women – a topic often mined for self-serious drama. The trope of idealized femininity provides the best material for mockery. The storyline, as befitting an intentionally ridiculous send-up, takes a back seat to the bits. Carr keeps them coming at a consistently comedic rate. The film features a homicide, a farcical probe, and an illicit love affair featuring the charming thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose. The Constraints of Frivolous Amusement Everything is in the spirit of playful comedy, but that very quality has limitations. The amplified silliness of a spoof might grate over time, and the comic fuel in this instance runs out somewhere between sketch and feature. Eventually, you might wish to retreat to a realm of (very slight) reason. Nevertheless, one must admire a genuine dedication to the artform. In an age where we might to entertain ourselves relentlessly, let's at least see the funny side.
Perhaps the feeling of an ending era in the air: subsequent to a lengthy span of inactivity, the parody is enjoying a comeback. The past few months saw the revival of this lighthearted genre, which, when done well, lampoons the pretensions of excessively solemn genres with a torrent of heightened tropes, physical comedy, and ridiculously smart wordplay. Frivolous times, it seems, beget knowingly unserious, joke-dense, refreshingly shallow entertainment. The Newest Addition in This Goofy Resurgence The most recent of these silly send-ups comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that jabs at the highly satirizable airs of opulent UK historical series. Penned in part by stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the feature finds ample of material to work with and exploits every bit of it. Opening on a absurd opening and culminating in a preposterous conclusion, this amusing silver-spoon romp fills every one of its 97 minutes with gags and sketches running the gamut from the childish to the genuinely funny. A Mimicry of Aristocrats and Servants In the vein of Downton, Fackham Hall presents a spoof of extremely pompous the nobility and very obsequious staff. The plot focuses on 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 male heirs in a series of calamitous events, their hopes now rest on securing unions for their daughters. The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has achieved the family goal of an engagement to the right first cousin, Archibald (an impeccably slimy Tom Felton). But after she withdraws, the burden transfers to the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a "dried-up husk already and and holds unladylike notions regarding female autonomy. The Film's Laughs Lands Most Effectively The parody fares much better when sending up the stifling norms placed on early 20th-century women – a topic often mined for self-serious drama. The trope of idealized femininity provides the best material for mockery. The storyline, as befitting an intentionally ridiculous send-up, takes a back seat to the bits. Carr keeps them coming at a consistently comedic rate. The film features a homicide, a farcical probe, and an illicit love affair featuring the charming thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose. The Constraints of Frivolous Amusement Everything is in the spirit of playful comedy, but that very quality has limitations. The amplified silliness of a spoof might grate over time, and the comic fuel in this instance runs out somewhere between sketch and feature. Eventually, you might wish to retreat to a realm of (very slight) reason. Nevertheless, one must admire a genuine dedication to the artform. In an age where we might to entertain ourselves relentlessly, let's at least see the funny side.