Perhaps the notion of end times pervading: following a long period of inactivity, the parody is making a comeback. The recent season witnessed the rebirth of this playful category, which, when done well, skewers the pretensions of pompously earnest dramas with a torrent of exaggerated stereotypes, sight gags, and stupid-clever puns.
Frivolous periods, apparently, give rise to knowingly unserious, gag-packed, refreshingly shallow entertainment.
The newest of these absurd spoofs is Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that jabs at the very pokeable airs of gilded British period dramas. Co-written by stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the film has plenty of material to draw from and wastes none of it.
Opening on a absurd opening and culminating in a ludicrous finish, this entertaining upper-class adventure fills all of its hour and a half with gags and sketches that vary from the puerile up to the authentically hilarious.
Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall offers a pastiche of very self-important aristocrats and very obsequious servants. The story revolves around the hapless Lord Davenport (played by a delightfully mannered Damian Lewis) and his literature-hating wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their children in separate calamitous events, their aspirations fall upon marrying off their two girls.
The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has achieved the dynastic aim of betrothal to the right first cousin, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). Yet once she pulls out, the burden transfers to the single elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), described as an old maid already and and holds dangerously modern ideas concerning women's independence.
The film fares much better when sending up the suffocating expectations imposed on early 20th-century females – a topic frequently explored for po-faced melodrama. The archetype of proper, coveted womanhood supplies the most fertile material for mockery.
The narrative thread, as befitting an intentionally ridiculous parody, is secondary to the bits. Carr serves them up arriving at a consistently comedic pace. The film features a homicide, a farcical probe, and an illicit love affair involving the charming thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
Everything is in lighthearted fun, however, this approach has limitations. The heightened foolishness characteristic of the genre can wear quickly, and the comic fuel for this specific type diminishes at the intersection of sketch and a full-length film.
Eventually, one may desire to go back to the world of (very slight) coherence. But, one must respect a wholehearted devotion to the craft. If we're going to amuse ourselves unto oblivion, let's at least see the funny side.
An avid hiker and nature photographer with a passion for exploring the Italian Alps and sharing travel insights.
