Fackham Hall – This Rapid-Fire, Funny Takeoff on Downton That's Pleasantly Throwaway.

Perhaps the notion of end times pervading: after years of inactivity, the parody is staging a return. This summer witnessed the revival of this playful category, which, in its finest form, skewers the pretensions of pompously earnest dramas with a barrage of pitched clichés, visual jokes, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.

Frivolous times, it seems, give rise to self-awarely frivolous, gag-packed, welcome light entertainment.

The Latest Offering in This Silly Trend

The most recent of these absurd spoofs arrives as Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that needles the easily mockable self-importance of wealthy British period dramas. The screenplay comes from British-Irish comedian Jimmy Carr and directed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie finds ample of source material to draw from and wastes none of it.

Starting with a absurd opening and culminating in a preposterous conclusion, this entertaining aristocratic caper crams each of its hour and a half with gags and sketches ranging from the juvenile to the truly humorous.

A Pastiche of The Gentry and Staff

Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall delivers a pastiche of extremely pompous rich people and very obsequious servants. The plot focuses on the feckless Lord Davenport (brought to life by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his literature-hating wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their four sons in a series of calamitous events, their hopes are pinned on finding matches for their daughters.

One daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has achieved the dynastic aim of betrothal to the suitable close relative, Archibald (an impeccably slimy Tom Felton). However after she backs out, the pressure shifts to the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is an old maid of a woman" and and possesses dangerously modern notions regarding women's independence.

Where the Comedy Lands Most Effectively

The film is significantly more successful when satirizing the suffocating norms forced upon pre-war women – a subject often mined for po-faced melodrama. The archetype of idealized womanhood supplies the best comic targets.

The plot, as befitting a purposefully absurd send-up, takes a back seat to the jokes. The co-writer keeps them maintaining a pleasantly funny rate. There is a homicide, a bungled inquiry, and an illicit love affair involving the roguish street urchin Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.

A Note on Lighthearted Fun

The entire affair is in lighthearted fun, however, this approach has limitations. The amplified silliness inherent to parody might grate quickly, and the comic fuel on this particular variety diminishes somewhere between sketch and feature.

At a certain point, audiences could long to retreat to stories with (very slight) reason. Yet, it's necessary to applaud a genuine dedication to the craft. Given that we are to amuse ourselves relentlessly, we might as well find the humor in it.