‘Fackham Hall’ Seeks Laughs With Gags, Puns, and a Parody of ‘Downton Abbey’

There is an indelible moment in “Airplane!” (1980), a film directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, that could serve as a comedic litmus test: When a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago encounters a set of problems, not least the loss of the cockpit crew, a passenger is enlisted to take the helm, a war veteran with a fear of flying. When asked by a doctor on board if he can land and fly the plane, the potential pilot answers: “Surely, you can’t be serious.” To which the medical professional, with the straightest of faces, responds: “I am serious. And don’t call me ‘Shirley’.”