Every now and again, a movie will come along that genuinely makes you laugh out loud. Fackham Hall certainly ticks that box. A period satire that riffs heavily on the tone and classism found in the hit series Downton Abbey, Fackham Hall (say it out loud), ends up being a wonderfully funny time, with a good gag-to-laugh ratio.
Set in the 1930s, the plot revolves around the Davenports, the wealthy aristocrats residing in the titular house. But the current generation of the family is made up of Lord Davenport (Damien Lewis), Lady Davenport ( Katherine Waterston), Rose (Thomasin McKenzie) and Poppy (Emma Laird). The family are in dire need of one of their daughters to marry a suitor in order to have the house legally pass down and stay within the family, but with two daughters with grand ideas, like thinking, that may prove to be difficult. When Poppy elects not to marry her cousin Archibald (Tom Felton) at the altar in favour of running off with one of the lower-class poop pushers, the family’s plans will be thrown into disarray. Making matters more complicated is the arrival of thief and orphan Eric Noone (pronounced “no-one”, played by Ben Radcliffe), who was merely coming to Fackham Hall to deliver a message, but ends up getting hired as the new hall boy on the spot. He and Rose form an instant connection, which is sure to throw her parents’ plans out the window. Throw in a murder, a deadline, and an investigation, and the movie has a lot more going on than expected, even if the actual plot is secondary to the jokes.
I’d say this movie works best if you like films like The Naked Gun or Downton Abbey to appreciate the gags at that series’ expense. But there’s a slew of jokes thrown in that make fun of everything from the church to the aristocratic class, and more modern pop culture references to boot. Does every single one work? Of course not. And some of them happen so quickly that it takes your brain a few moments to process what just happened, and by then another gag has surfaced. There’s also an ample amount of visual gags in the background that the camera may never draw attention to, forcing you to scout the whole frame looking for a bit (baby on a clothesline, and a witty name of a tailor, for example). But I laughed a lot during this movie, and even though the story was fairly predictable overall, I was able to figure out the gist of the story fairly early on in the movie. And what this was parodying, beyond just Downton, was pretty good, I thought, with specific jabs being given at the expense of classism and sexism.
If spoof-style movies aren’t your thing, or specifically British humour, I’m not sure this will land for you, but if you appreciate movies like Spaceballs or Naked Gun, with the upper class being the main targets for ridicule, then I think Fackham Hall is a fun watch. It’s hard to make me laugh that much in a movie, especially these days, and this one managed to do that. Assignment understood, mission accomplished.
