Fackham Hall Review – A Fast-Paced, Humorous Parody of Downton Abbey That's Pleasantly Ephemeral.

Maybe the sense of uncertain days in the air: following a long period of dormancy, the parody is making a comeback. The past few months saw the rebirth of this unserious film style, which, in its finest form, lampoons the grandiosity of overly serious genres with a torrent of heightened tropes, sight gags, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.

Playful eras, apparently, beget deliberately shallow, gag-packed, welcome light amusement.

The Latest Addition in This Goofy Wave

The latest of these goofy parodies comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that jabs at the easily mockable airs of gilded British period dramas. Penned in part by stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the feature finds ample of source material to draw from and uses all of it.

From a ridiculous beginning and culminating in a preposterous conclusion, this amusing aristocratic caper crams each of its hour and a half with gags and sketches that vary from the childish to the genuinely funny.

A Mimicry of The Gentry and Staff

Much like Downton, Fackham Hall offers a pastiche of extremely pompous the nobility and excessively servile help. The story centers on the incompetent Lord Davenport (played by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his literature-hating wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). After losing their four sons in various tragic accidents, their hopes now rest on finding matches for their daughters.

The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has accomplished the dynastic aim of an engagement to the suitable close relative, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). However when she withdraws, the pressure shifts to the single elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered an old maid of a woman" and who harbors dangerously modern ideas about a woman's own mind.

Where the Humor Works Best

The parody achieves greater effect when sending up the stifling expectations placed on Edwardian-era women – a topic frequently explored for self-serious drama. The trope of proper, coveted femininity offers the richest comic targets.

The storyline, as befitting an intentionally ridiculous parody, takes a back seat to the bits. Carr serves them up coming at a consistently comedic clip. There is a killing, an incompetent investigation, and a star-crossed attraction between the plucky thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.

The Constraints of Pure Silliness

The entire affair is in the spirit of playful comedy, but that very quality comes with constraints. The dialed-up foolishness inherent to parody can wear after a while, and the mileage in this instance diminishes in the space between sketch and a full-length film.

At a certain point, you might wish to return to a realm of (very slight) logic. But, one must admire a wholehearted devotion to this type of comedy. Given that we are to entertain ourselves relentlessly, we might as well laugh at it.