Fackham Hall Review – This Fast-Paced, Witty Downton Abbey Spoof Which Is Delightfully Throwaway.

It could be the notion of an ending era around us: following a long period of dormancy, the spoof is staging a resurgence. This summer observed the rebirth of this unserious film style, which, when done well, lampoons the grandiosity of overly serious dramas with a barrage of exaggerated stereotypes, visual jokes, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.

Frivolous times, apparently, create an appetite for self-awarely frivolous, joke-dense, refreshingly shallow fun.

A Recent Addition in This Goofy Trend

The latest of these absurd spoofs arrives as Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof 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 movie has plenty of source material to draw from and exploits every bit of it.

From a ridiculous beginning and culminating in a outrageous finale, this entertaining aristocratic caper crams each of its hour and a half with gags and sketches ranging from the puerile up to the authentically hilarious.

A Mimicry of Aristocrats and Servants

In the vein of Downton, Fackham Hall offers a pastiche of overly dignified the nobility and very obsequious servants. The plot centers on the hapless Lord Davenport (portrayed by a delightfully mannered Damian Lewis) and his literature-hating wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). After losing their four sons in various calamitous events, their aspirations now rest on finding matches for their daughters.

The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has accomplished the aristocratic objective of betrothal to the right first cousin, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). Yet when she backs out, the burden shifts to the single elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered an old maid already and who harbors unladylike beliefs regarding women's independence.

Where the Laughs Works Best

The spoof is significantly more successful when sending up the suffocating expectations forced upon early 20th-century women – a subject typically treated for earnest storytelling. The trope of idealized womanhood offers the best material for mockery.

The storyline, as one would expect from a purposefully absurd parody, takes a back seat to the jokes. Carr keeps them arriving at a consistently comedic clip. The film features a killing, a bungled inquiry, and a forbidden romance between the roguish street urchin 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 dialed-up absurdity characteristic of the genre may tire over time, and the entertainment value in this instance runs out in the space between a skit and feature.

At a certain point, audiences could long to retreat to the world of (very slight) reason. But, it's necessary to admire a genuine dedication to this type of comedy. Given that we are to distract ourselves relentlessly, it's preferable to see the funny side.