The historical romantic costume drama is an ideal target for parody, and 'Fackham Hall' takes aim at the 'Downton Abbey' genre with an 'Airplane!'-style spoof. The title, when pronounced with a Cockney accent by a servant, sounds like 'Fuck 'em all!'—a joke that is half-funny at best. Directed by Jim O'Hanlon from a script by five writers, the film recreates the world it parodies with scrupulous detail, but the restrained tone prevents most jokes from fully detonating.
Set in 1931 at the ridiculously oversized Fackham Hall, the aristocratic Davenport family presides over a world where everyone marries their first or second cousin to keep wealth in the family. The inscription 'Incestus ad Infinitum' on the gate sets up a running gag. Sisters Rose (Thomasin McKenzie) and Poppy (Emma Laird) must marry the right cousin to maintain their luxury lifestyle. After Poppy flees her wedding to Archibald (Tom Felton), Rose is expected to marry him, but she falls for Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe), a Cockney orphan who arrives as a delivery boy and stays as an assistant.
Damian Lewis plays Lord Davenport with a straight face, embodying a stuffed shirt with clueless entitlement, while Katherine Waterston as Lady Davenport calls her 23-year-old daughter a dried-up spinster. The film includes chuckles at a hunting party that turns into friendly fire, a novel titled 'One Shade of Gray,' and a cameo by J.R.R. Tolkien (Jason Done) who scribbles ideas from conversations. Despite R-rated sex gags, the jokes land gently, lacking the anarchic aggression of classics like 'The Naked Gun.'
Ultimately, 'Fackham Hall' is amusing enough but overly civilized, offering light chuckles rather than belly laughs. It's a mild spoof that respects its source material too much to truly skewer it.
