Fackham Hall arrives as something of a minor miracle. At a time when theatrical comedies are increasingly rare and full-blooded parody films rarer still, it feels almost anachronistic to sit in a cinema and watch a movie whose primary goal is simply to make the audience laugh. Not chuckle politely or exhale through the nose, but laugh openly and often. That alone makes Fackham Hall worthy of attention, but the film justifies its existence far beyond novelty. I went into the film having only seen a handful of the properties it is parodying. I am certain there are references and genre specific jokes that passed me by entirely, aimed at viewers deeply familiar with a certain tradition of stately homes, hushed scandal, and rigid class structures. Yet the film never makes that a problem. It understands something essential about parody that many lesser examples forget. Recognition can enhance a joke, but it should never be the joke itself. Like the classic spoof films that inspired it, Fackh...