Fackham Hall

Fackham Hall
Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Ben Radcliffe, Damian Lewis, Katherine Waterston
Directed by Jim O'Hanlon

For a while it seemed the spoof genre was dead with duds like "Epic Movie," "Date Movie," "Dance Movie," and the like that littered the 2000s landscape. Classics like "Airplane!" and "Spaceballs" were considered old relics of a bygone era, and it seemed nothing would re-vitalize the subgenre. Then Liam Neeson remade the classic "Naked Gun" movie and, against all odds, brought new life back to the subgenre, offering a surprisingly hilarious outing every part as equal as the original trilogy. Now "Fackham Hall" hopes to capitalize on this new wave of spoof movies, and while it wasn't as epically funny as the new "Naked Gun," it has its own charms and humor that made for a delightful viewing experience and demands second watch to catch all the jokes missed because you were laughing at others.

In 1931 Britain, the Davenports are facing a crisis. The patriarch Lord Humphrey Davenport (Damian Lewis) and his wife, Lady Prudence (Katherine Watetrston) lost all their boys to different modes of death, and since Fackham Hall can only be passed down to another Davenport male, they work ferociously to have one of their two daughters wed to their cousin,  Archibald Davenport (Tom Felton). Their younger daughter Poppy (Emma Laird) is finally set to wed him, but abandons him at their wedding to be with the man of her dreams. All their hope now lies with their impossibly old 23-year-old daughter Rose (Thomasin McKenzie) to wed Archibald instead, but she's drawn eyes to the mysterious new hall boy Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe). The intrigue only grows more deadly when Humphrey is found murdered, thrusting the family into turmoil as they try to uncover the dastardly killer.

"Downton Abbey" is one of the biggest international sensations, incorporating numerous television seasons, awards, and three blockbuster films that all center on the wealthy aristocratic Crawley family and their exploits in 1920s and 30s Britain. It's always fascinated me that such a show was a sensation, as it focuses on the wealthy 1% and their first world struggles as the other 99% deal with real-life issues, but I guess it's also a great getaway from the mundane world most people live in. "Fackham Hall" spoofs this franchise to perfect execution - from the period piece costume designs, the castle itself, and the inhabitants within - that both pokes fun and pays homage to such iconic franchises.

Spoof movies are some of my favorites, and "Fackham Hall" leans heavily into its charm by utilizing the comedic tropes in ways that never come off as overbearing. Its deadpan humor (numerous times making jokes in such a way as it appears to be normal dialogue, where you might miss some if you weren't paying attention) is top notch, as each character gives such gravitas to their dialogue that you don't think it'll be as funny as it is. Typically, I find crude humor to not be funny when it's used in excess, and most movies nowadays are guilty of that, but the crude humor here occurs few and far between where I can actually appreciate and laugh at it (especially the priest, who's reading and misunderstanding of punctuation got me laughing the hardest). Then there's the slapstick comedy that is equally pitch perfect, with characters befalling accidents time and again with gut-rolling laughter.

The performances are also well done, where each character understands the assignment and doesn't wink at the audience in a way to point to the humor being told on screen. It's all deadly serious, especially when the murder occurs, but the comedy underlies each scene. Thomasin McKenzie, Damian Lewis, Tom Felton and Katherine Waterston - all well-known serious actors - allow themselves to let loose and really enjoy being in a comedy, while Ben Radcliffe also perpetuates a perfect duel narrative as the mysterious yet enigmatic Eric Noone (pronounced "no one"). It's a perfect cast for the project, and makes for a delightful viewing experience. 

The Score: A-