This week, we delve into a hilarious spoof of “Downton Abbey” and film version of a stage musical that is way better than that “Wicked” sequel.
“Fackham Hall”: Off-color spoofs of specific genres and films — think the “Airplane” and “Naked Gun” series, the entirety of Mel Brooks’ hysterical canon and so on — are somewhat of a rare occurrence these days. What’s even more rare is when they’re actually funny. Here’s some good news. Director Jim O’Hanlon’s ribbing of “Downton Abbey” and countless buttoned-up BBC period pieces lands its jokes more often than not. Oh, yes, there are groaners, but you expect that. A team of screenwriters gleefully skewer the Dickens out of this genre and do so through wordplay, aristocratic buffoonery, innuendo (the pastor’s sermons are to die for) and more. There’s even a little romance as hunky pickpocket Eric Noone (a dashing, quite funny Ben Radcliffe) gets charged with delivering a letter to Lord Davenport (Damian Lewis) at Fackham Hall, where he quickly becomes smitten with clever Rose (Thomasin McKenzie). This happens just as everyone’s scurrying about preparing for sis Poppy (Emma Laird) to wed an annoying drip of a cousin (Tom Felton). The joyless union is being pushed by Lord and Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston) so that the wealth stays in the family. “Fackham Hall” has a quiver full of sharp one-liners that hit the target and an interesting collection of supporting characters — including author JRR Tolkien (Jason Done). Of course not all the jokes work, but many do, as Fackham Hall” thrives on pure silliness and word play. It made me laugh, yes, and groan a time or two, but more importantly it took my mind off the world’s problems for 90 minutes. So: mission accomplished. Details: 3 stars; opens Dec. 5 in theaters.
“Merrily We Roll Along”: Sometimes not messing around with a successful formula is the route to take and can lead to something extra special. That happens with stage director Maria Friedman’s acted-to-the-hilt film version of this once-overlooked Stephen Sondheim/George Furth stage musical, which itself was based on a 1934 stage drama and later revived to acclaim and awards in 2022. Outfitted with character-driven songs, three well-drawn protagonists and a timeless warning on the down side of “making it big,” “Merrily We Roll Along” charts, in reverse, the sorrow-drenched souring of a decades-spanning friendship between three creative types: songwriter turned hotshot Hollywood producer Franklin Shepard (Jonathan Groff), lyricist and playwright Charley Kringas (Daniel Radcliffe) and author and reviewer Mary Flynn (Lindsay Mendez). Friedman — who directed the 2022-2023 Tony-winning stage revival — is thoroughly in tune with the material and knows the beats it needs to hit. But just as responsible for pulling this off is the seamless editing of Spencer Averick. He and Friedman effectively stitch together three live New York Hudson Theatre performances from the late run of the Tony-winning revival. That duo and cinematographer Sam Levy zoom in on the emotion expressed in the three principals’ faces and it’s an approach that makes the material soar. Groff manages to make his self-involved character soulful and, for the most part, palatable; Radcliffe shows grace with his comedic timing and volatility with his passive-aggressive fury over Franklin’s blind ambition; and Flynn turns sarcastic alcoholic Mary into a tragic bitter person who was once buoyant with hope. “Merrily We Roll Along” lacks the massive big-screen budget, the effects, the title recognition and certainly the moneyed ad campaign of that other musical in movie theaters this season — the rather shallow and showy “Wicked: For Good” — yet this underdog is leagues better in both its story and lyrics and stands on equally talented footing in regards to its cast. “Merrily We Roll Along” will be embraced wholeheartedly by stage and movie musical fans and might even win over some staunch disavowers. Really, it’s that good. Details: 3½ stars; opens Dec. 5 in theaters.
“Oh. What. Fun.”: Michelle Pfeiffer being attached to a project usually is good enough reason to tune in, but Oh. What. A. Bummer. Michael Showalter’s star-studied holiday romp turns out to be. All the comedic trimmings get stuffed into a slip of a Christmas story in which fed-up underappreciated Texas mom Claire Clauster (Pfeiffer narrating with a Southern-fried twang) hits the road since her preoccupied offspring (Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, Dominic Sessa), their partners (Jason Schwartzman, Devery Jacobs) and even her husband (Denis Leary) failed to drop her name into a mom contest hosted by talk show host Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria, stealing scenes). A too-perfect-to-be-true matriarch (Joan Chen) next door further chips away at Claire’s eroding facade. But she’s her own worst enemy, evident in a ridiculous Crate & Barrel shopping meltdown that hits a very low point in this comedy and is far more embarrassing than funny. The normally reliable Showalter (“The Big Sick,” “Spoiler Alert”) co-wrote the screenplay with author Chandler Baker and resorts to outlandish slapstick contrivances that are as artificial as a plastic Christmas tree. “Oh. What. Fun.” isolates on a well-to-do family befouled by wealthy neuroses and it’s hard to give a boo-hoo about any of their calamities. Doesn’t help matters that the Clauster family is a self-absorbed bunch of whiners deserving of a lump of coal. Schwartzman, though, is comic gold as an inappropriate inlaw while Sessa brightens things up as a broken-hearted sop who insinuates himself with all the elan of a Lab puppy into the neighbor’s next door household. “Oh. What. Fun.” survives on the fluid talent of its cast instead of its lackluster and flaccid screenplay. It’s a holiday film that tries way too hard and just not hard enough. Details: 1½ stars; now available on Amazon Prime.
“100 Nights of Hero”: Unless you’ve been stuck on a woebegotten planet in another galaxy the last few years, you’re well versed about the surge of romantasy, gulpable fiction that pairs a spicy-hot romance with the creative flair of fantastical worldbuilding. Writer/director Julia Jackman proves successful in envisioning both the hotness and the otherworldliness with her sumptuous take on Isabel Greenberg’s graphic novel “The One Hundred Nights of Hero,” a homage of sorts to the classic Middle East fairy tale “One Thousand and One Nights.” Both sexy and queer, this zesty enterprise scurries us off to an era where castle hierarchy and self-important malehood rule the day. Women are treated like commodities, mere inferior window dressing that are undeserving of becoming literate. A resourceful maid named Cherry (Emma Corrin) finds a workaround solution to all this sexist horrific-ness while she crushes hard on the dazed Cherry (Maika Monroe) whose arranged marriage to Jerome (Amir El-Masry) fails to produce a child since he keeps a watchful eye out on the guys. Facing pressure to sire a child, Jerome tosses a crude wager the way of his dashing but dim-witted Lothario-like chum Manfred (Nicholas Galitzine) – a bet that the handsome cad won’t be able to woo Cherry and bed her while he’s gone for 100 nights. That sets the stage for an engrossing game of seduction and sexual awakening that you’ll find hard to resist. Jackman’s adult fairy tale confection comes alive due to her directorial and storytelling savvy and the charisma of that Corrin-Monroe-Galitzine acting trifecta. Even tiny supporting turns from singer Charli XCX, Felicity Jones and Richard E. Grant add to the fun. Details: 3 stars; opens Dec. 5 in theaters.
“Reflections in a Dead Diamond”: The filmmaking team of Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani don’t mess around when it comes to elaborate toying with filmgoers’ senses; this time with a sexy and unabashedly strange spy thriller that refuses like a four-year-old to adhere to linear demands. Embrace its piece-it-together structure and you’re in for an artsy head trip with 70-year-old spy John D. (Fabio Testi) hitting the Côte d’Azur beach and getting sucked back into the maw of his own diamond-studded spy game past. Cattet and Forzani basically Frankenstein together bits of opera, James Bond thrillers and giallo horror for a disorienting cinematic cocktail that will knock you right off your sofas. That stylish approach might throw literal-minded people into a real tizzy, especially since the story jumps from present to past (hunky Yannick Renier fittingly playing a younger John D.) in a flash. At times, I got lost in the web of its own design but didn’t care too much about that since it’s so hypnotically stylish and mesmerizing to surrender yourself over to. And at under 90 minutes, it never outlasts its welcome. Details: 3 stars; available Dec. 5 on Shudder.
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.