Fackham Hall

“Eric.”
“It’s Rose, actually.”

The world really needs a laugh right now. Collectively, with all the crap going down, it might not seem like the right time to get together and enjoy some levity, but we need it more than ever. We need to let BS slide away for 90 minutes, put on something deliriously stupidly funny, and just enjoy ourselves. Maybe, as a novel thought, we can enjoy ourselves with other people too! As comedies struggle to find a footing at theaters, there were some solid attempts this last year. First, credit to Paramount for offering a damned funny revival of the classic spoof with The Naked Gun. Bleecker Street’s limited two-week theatrical engagement model might not make a lot of sense to me, but I made sure to strike a pilgrimage for Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (RIP Rob). Most recently, Bleecker Street delivered their Downton Abbey send-up, Fackham Hall, from Jim O’Hanlon, conceived by Jimmy Carr and Patrick Carr, to theater screens. I wish I’d had the time to see this in the theater, because if there was ever a movie that needed to be seen on the big screen with a theater full of people, this is it. Maybe not a perfect comedy, but my god, there were times when I was laughing so hard I was glad I could pause the show to catch my breath. 

Have you seen any or all of Downton Abbey? Have you seen one or any of the recent Kenneth Branagh Poirot films, Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, or Death in Venice? It’s probably okay if you haven’t, but you’ll be on better footing if you have. Think of how well Hot Shots! worked because you’ve seen Top Gun. Consider how well Airplane! worked because you saw any one of the Airport films (and it helps even more if you’ve seen Sterling Hayden in Zero Hour!). That’s part of the key to sliding into the silliness of Fackham Hall. Two very British drama styles that take themselves entirely too seriously are brought down a peg by this often hilarious spoof. 

Our main “story” centers around Ben Radcliffe as reprebait and orphan Eric Noone and his new love for Thomasin McKenzie’s aristocratic Rose Davenport - the last of the Davenport children able to wed Cousin Archibald (a delightfully slimy Tom Felton) to keep the family fortune within the family. There were four Davenport sons, John, George, Paul, and Ringo… but they all died. As Eric gets a job working for the Davenports at Fackham Hall, the social dynamics of the inbred aristocracy mingling with the hoi polloi come to a head when Lord Davenport (Damian Lewis) is murdered, and fancy-mustachioed Inspector Watt (Tom Goodman-Hill) arrives to solve the crime - and everyone is a suspect. 

All credit for the constant hilarity goes to this fantastic cast. At the top of the pile is a delightfully deadpan Damian Lewis as Lord Davenport. His aloofness, wit, and delivery often steal every scene. I'm not used to seeing him in comedies, so this was a pleasant surprise. Katherine Waterson is a very fun, overly dramatic Lady Davenport. She doesn’t get many laughs, but when she gets the chance to deliver a joke or gag, she shines. Tim McMullan and Anna Maxwell Martin stand out as heads of the serving staff, Cyril and Mrs. McAllister. Ben Radcliffe and Thomasin McKenzie have moments where they deliver some great gags and wordplay, but because they’re the ones moving the plot along, the funniest bits are often left to the numerous side characters like the men-obsessed Bechdel Twins Mary and Constance (both played by Erin Austen).

And while the film is hilarious, it’s not always razor-sharp. The setup ripped right out of five seasons of Downton seems to stumble when it tries to get clever with the plot. The traditional three-act structure isn’t exactly a necessity with spoof/parody comedy like this. Not every plot point needs to go somewhere, and often the film loses some of its inherent comedy edge and momentum when it’s trying too hard to tie things up. But that’s a small quibble in the end. For the vast majority of the swift 97-minute runtime, I was laughing too hard to care about any shortcomings. It might be too long in the tooth at times, but if you look at the deleted scenes, they already had to kill off some great material to keep things moving. I hope this film and the latest The Naked Gun serve as an invitation for filmmakers to deliver more deliriously clever, hilariously smart, but also incredibly stupid parody comedies. We need more reasons to gather together as strangers and share a good-natured, if incredibly dumb, laugh. 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray 
We arrive at the majestic estate of Fackham Hall on Blu-ray thanks to Decal. A single-disc release, the film is pressed on a Region A BD25 disc. The disc is housed in a standard case and loads to an animated main menu with standard navigation options.

Fackham Hall enjoys a facking solid 1080p transfer. Slipped down to a BD25 disc, I would have liked to see this film get a little more room to breathe on a BD50 disc, but as is, this is pretty damn good. Fine details are sharp and clean, letting us appreciate the intricate production design details of the house, the lavish grounds, as well as all of the period costumes and stylings. With a $13 million budget, the film looks bigger and more expensive than that, so I guess that’s a testament to the transfer we have on this disc. Colors are bright, cheery, and warm. If you’ve seen any given episode (or film) in the Downton saga, this film captures that mood and experience perfectly. Black levels and shadows are strong, contrast and whites are well balanced. But, similar to what I experienced with Decals’ Blu-ray of Spinal Tap II, I felt the image depth was a bit limited. I’b be curious to see what an unpacked 4K transfer could do for the image. As is, this will do just fine.

On the audio front, we have a subtly immersive DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio mix. It’s not overly aggressive with its soundstage, similar to the shows and films it’s parodying; the antics play out with a softer vibe. Music cues fill the scene when appropriate, but otherwise the show plays out like a dialogue-focused period costume drama… with more flatulence. Given that so many of the jokes are wordplay gags, dialogue is right on point and never an issue. While the mix may feel more Front/Center focused, the surrounds have a nice, distinctly subtle placement letting various auditory gags have their moment. There are a few active party sequences, and a pub hall song-and-dance number perks things up, giving you a bit more energetic surround experience. All in, it’s a strong mix that serves the nature of this film well.

As far as bonus features go, we don’t have a whole lot of material on this disc. However, we do get 11 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, and it shows how hard it can be to get an edit for a film like this just right. Some sequences and jokes like “Have You Seen Bert?” or “There’s a Letter For you, Sir,” I think should have stayed in, for how hard I was laughing at the bit. 

• Deleted Scenes: (HD 11:02 Total)
• A Big Splash
• A Broiled Oyster
• Reviving Patricia
• Amphetamines
• Bollocks for Eyeballs
• Have You Seen Bert? 
• She’s Teasing You, Archie
• Act Like an Object
• His Balls are Exquisite
• Kinky Sex
• Pub Song
• How to Murder People
• There’s A Letter For You, Sir
• Book of Manors
• An Evening Stroll

In this age of extreme cynicism and anger, it’s nice to find a film whose sole mission is just to take the piss and make you laugh. Sure, you could argue we didn’t need a Downton Abbey parody, but we got one with Fackham Hall, and it’s exactly what we deserved. The jokes fly fast, some land, some don’t, but then you could be laughing so hard from one joke that you might miss the setup for the next. I take it as a good sign that after pouring a light whisky for the viewing, I completely forgot about the drink in my hand until the film was nearly over. Hard to get a sip in when you’re laughing hard enough that you have to pause the movie! On Blu-ray, Fackham Hall makes an elegant physical media entrance with a nice video transfer and a very good audio track. I’d be curious to see the film on 4K disc someday, but until then, if it even comes along at all, this disc will serve nicely Recommended