A Look at Fackham Hall – A Brisk, Witty Takeoff on Downton That's Refreshingly Lightweight.

It could be the feeling of uncertain days around us: subsequent to a lengthy span of dormancy, the spoof is enjoying a return. The past few months saw the re-emergence of this unserious film style, which, when done well, mocks the pretensions of pompously earnest genre with a torrent of heightened tropes, sight gags, and ridiculously smart wordplay.

Frivolous periods, it seems, give rise to knowingly unserious, joke-dense, welcome light fun.

The Newest Entry in This Silly Trend

The most recent of these goofy parodies arrives as Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that pokes fun at the very pokeable self-importance of gilded British period dramas. The screenplay comes from British-Irish comedian Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the film has plenty of material to mine and uses all of it.

Starting with a absurd opening and culminating in a outrageous finale, this amusing upper-class adventure fills every one of its runtime with jokes and bits that vary from the juvenile to the authentically hilarious.

A Pastiche of The Gentry and Staff

Much like Downton, Fackham Hall offers a caricature of overly dignified the nobility and excessively servile help. The story revolves around the hapless Lord Davenport (portrayed by a wonderfully pretentious Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). After losing their four sons in a series of unfortunate mishaps, their aspirations fall upon securing unions for their daughters.

The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the family goal of a promise to marry the appropriate first cousin, Archibald (an impeccably slimy Tom Felton). But once she backs out, the pressure transfers to the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is an old maid already and and possesses dangerously modern notions about women's independence.

Where the Laughs Succeeds

The film is significantly more successful when satirizing the suffocating expectations imposed on Edwardian-era women – a topic frequently explored for self-serious drama. The archetype of idealized womanhood provides the richest material for mockery.

The storyline, as befitting a deliberately silly spoof, is of lesser importance to the gags. Carr keeps them maintaining a consistently comedic pace. There is a homicide, a farcical probe, and a star-crossed attraction between the plucky thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.

A Note on Pure Silliness

It's all in lighthearted fun, though that itself has limitations. The heightened silliness characteristic of the genre can wear quickly, and the mileage for this specific type expires somewhere between a skit and a full-length film.

Eventually, you might wish to retreat to a realm of (very slight) reason. But, one must admire a genuine dedication to this type of comedy. In an age where we might to amuse ourselves to death, we might as well laugh at it.