In what feels like a sign of unserious times, the film spoof is staging a notable comeback. Leading the charge is Fackham Hall, a rapid-fire parody of British period dramas that takes direct aim at the pomp and pretension of shows like Downton Abbey.
The Spoof Genre Rises Again
After years lying dormant, the lighthearted spoof is enjoying a resurgence. This summer witnessed the moderate box office success of The Naked Gun reboot and the return of hapless rockers in Spinal Tap II. With reboots of classics like Scary Movie and Spaceballs in the works, audiences seem to have a renewed appetite for joke-dense, refreshingly shallow fun. Fackham Hall arrives squarely in this wave, premiering on a day so absurd it felt beyond parody itself.
Written by comedian Jimmy Carr and directed by Jim O'Hanlon, the film wastes no time mining the rich satirical seam of aristocratic life. The plot centres on the feckless Lord and Lady Davenport, played by a wonderfully affected Damian Lewis and Katherine Waterston. Having lost their four sons, their hopes rest on marrying off their daughters to suitable cousins to keep the estate in the family.
A Game Cast Delivers the Gags
The pressure falls on their unmarried 23-year-old daughter, Rose, portrayed by Thomasin McKenzie, whom her mother considers a 'dried-up husk of a woman'. Rose's belief in female autonomy puts her at odds with the family's chosen suitor, the perfectly smarmy cousin Archibald (Tom Felton). The arrival of a plucky pickpocket, Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe), from a London orphanage further imperils the Davenports' carefully laid, if deeply ridiculous, plans.
Carr's script proves more successful in skewering the suffocating expectations of early 20th-century women—Rose's scandalous desire to read books is a highlight—than in some of his recent controversial stand-up material. The film packs its 97-minute runtime with a barrage of gags, from puerile to clever, including spoof-staple wordplay and ludicrous sight gags involving servants and a 'masturbatorium'.
Commitment to the Bit
The plot, involving a murder and an incompetent investigation, is secondary to the constant stream of bits, which deliver a solid number of genuine guffaws. The cast is uniformly game, playing the heightened reality with the right balance of bumbling and beguiling charm. The central romance between Noone and Rose provides a satisfying through-line amidst the chaos.
However, the very nature of a spoof has its limitations. The dialled-up silliness can wear thin, and the concept arguably stretches the distance between a sketch and a full feature. There may come a point where viewers long for a return to the world of slight reason. Yet, you have to respect the film's sincere commitment to its absurd artform. If we are amusing ourselves to death, we might as well laugh at it.
Fackham Hall is in US cinemas now, opens in the UK on 12 December, and arrives in Australia on 19 February.
