Fackham Hall – Movie Review
A household name in the UK comedy scene, Jimmy Carr lends his comedic prowess, both as a screenwriter and cameo performer in Fackham Hall, a Naked Gun/Airplane style parody flick taking a stab at the worlds of Downton Abbey.
Filled with laughs, immature gags, and punny insanity for its 95-minute runtime, Fackham Hall (a somewhat wordy play on ‘fuck-em-all’) is named after the estate in which the Davenport family, headed by Lord Humphrey (Damian Lewis) and Lady Prudence (Katherine Waterson), have owned for many generations. However, in the early 1900s, the estate is in jeopardy unless one of the Davenport daughters, one of which being Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), marry their cousin, Archibald (Tom Felton), which Rose is ultimately repulsed by the idea. Things become more complicated for the Davenports upon the arrival of Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe), a nobody (as his last name would suggest), who Rose takes a liking to, striking up a forbidden romance that puts the estate in jeopardy.
Even describing the plot to the film is giving far more credit to the story and structure that is laid out in Fackham Hall, as the movie’s main priority is gags, gags, and more gags. Opening with a joke about the different bells that ring throughout the house to alert the porters when their assistance is needed, and the bell titled “Mastabatorium” ringing at a frantically rhythmic pace, tells you exactly the ride you’re about to go on.
And for the most part, Fackham Hall is pretty damn funny. Jimmy Carr and his four co-writers showcase their penchant for wordy jokes – a scene in which Carr plays a priest marrying two characters slips up the flow of a sentence, resulting in him saying “marrying these two arseholes” instead of “our souls”, being one of many chuckle worthy examples of the word play.
But, like the Zucker-Abrams films that are clear inspirations for Fackham Hall, there is also an array of outlandish, slapstick style jokes that range from unexpected erections, to murder by misfired guns, and a particularly gory set piece involving a deer. While Fackham Hall may not bring anything entirely new to the table with the actual gags themselves, seeing them play it in the prim and proper environment of an early 1900s English estate does at least give a fresh coat of paint to these jokes.
The cast are clearly having a great time leaning into the absurdity of the film. Lewis is a particular standout as the dim-witted, yet conniving Lord Humphrey, whose shining moment is an extended (and I mean extended) scene where he is “dying”. McKenzie and Radcliffe bring a youthful and vibrant energy to the film too, which definitely helps propel the pace along as the story gets to its latter half, where the slightly repetitive nature of the story can start to lose a little steam.
Fackham Hall is an easy, breezy, and for the most part, pretty funny watch. It doesn’t go to the crude levels you may expect with a name like Jimmy Carr attached to it, but there is a nostalgic feeling that it captures, harkening back to the parody films of the 80s and 90s that are so beloved, and set the foundations of the genre.
Fackham Hall is in Australian cinemas February 19
