It is 1931 and Humphrey Davenport (Damien Lewis) has a problem. All his sons - John, Paul, George, and Ringo - died in various tragic accidents, leaving no direct heir to the family estate, Fackham Hall. His nephew, Archibald Davenport (Tom Felton), will inherit, leaving his wife and two daughters homeless. He will resolve this quandary by having his younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), marry Archibald. Meanwhile, wily Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) is something of an Artful Dodger in London. He has grown up in an orphanage, where he still resides. Upon returning from his antics in the city, a lawyer offered him the princely sum of one pound to deliver a letter to Lord Davenport at Fackham Hall. En route, he ran into - literally - Rose Davenport (Thomasin McKenzie), Poppy's elder sister and presumed spinster. Meet cute, followed by slapstick comedy. Upon arriving at Fackham Hall, Eric is mistaken for a job applicant, which he accepts, and completely forgets the letter he was to deliver. I'm sure it was nothing important.
This is Downton Abbey as slapstick, goofball comedy. One of the wedding guests is none other than JRR Tolkien "the Writer!" who finds plenty of inspiration for his writing. Jimmy Carr plays the town vicar who must have forgotten all the punctuation in his sermons: "You may kiss the choir boys... You may kiss. The choir boys will now sing." The Bechdel sisters who do nothing but talk about men and a desire to marry was a funny gag. Of particular note, I did not recognize Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton); he looks quite different and Archibald is entirely unlike Draco. At one point, it is mentioned that Archibald's older brother, Nathaniel, was presumed killed in the Great War; a flashback shows a grinning toddler in a British uniform standing in the trenches. Yes, they were so young in the war.
Silly popcorn fun. Recommended.
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