Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Now that March has arrived, it's officially festival season in Dallas-Fort Worth. In addition to two festivals that will take advantage of the stellar weather we're enjoying, you can attend the first showings of a Tony Award-winning play, a new opera, concerts from R&B stars young and old, and a performance by one of the world's biggest dancing stars.

Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, March 3

George W. Bush Presidential Center presents Path to the Presidency
Just what does it take to get elected as President of the United States? At the new Path to the Presidency exhibit, on display at the George W. Bush Presidential Center through October 9, visitors can see campaign and election-related memorabilia, including documents, photographs, and artifacts from the library and museum’s holdings, as well as items from other presidential libraries.

Dallas Theater Center presents All the Way
Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Texas native Robert Schenkkan, All the Way is a suspenseful new play about one of the most powerful Texans, Lyndon B. Johnson, from the moment of his sudden ascension to the presidency in 1963 to his hard-won landslide election a year later. A co-production with Houston's Alley Theatre, at which the same cast recently wrapped a month-long run, the play will be put on by Dallas Theater Center at Wyly Theatre through April 3.

Friday, March 4

Southwest Celtic Music Association presents The North Texas Irish Festival
The annual North Texas Irish Festival, themed Legends and Legacy this year, will highlight some of the legends of Irish music, including crowd favorites Altan and Solas, among other featured performers from around the world. The festival, running through Sunday at Fair Park, also features dancing, cultural presentations, traditional Irish food, drinks, a kids zone, and more.

Dallas Opera presents Manon
The penultimate production of Dallas Opera's 2015-2016 season, Manon is set in late-18th century France and is a timeless tale of young love and the allure of life’s unavoidable temptations. Can a woman with a taste for the best things in life sacrifice it all for the one man whose love is both unconditional and never-ending? The opera will play four times at Winspear Opera House through March 12.

Mavis Staples in concert with Nick Lowe
R&B/gospel singer Mavis Staples is a music legend, having been a force in the industry since her debut album in 1969. She never really stopped producing music, but she's enjoyed a resurgence in the 21st century, releasing five albums in the past 12 years, including the just-released Livin' on a High Note. She'll play at The Kessler on both Friday and Saturday, with help from Nick Lowe.

Andra Day in concert
Leon Bridges may hold the title for hottest soul singer in the country right now, but R&B/soul singer Andra Day is hot on his heels. Day released her debut album, Cheers to the Fall, in 2015, for which she earned two Grammy nominations, including one for her hit song, "Rise Up." She'll play at the Granada Theater with help from opening act Desi Valentine.

Saturday, March 5

2016 All Out Trinity
All Out Trinity is a daylong event designed to get people moving. It starts off with the Trinity River Levee Run, and continues with a variety of fitness activities on the Continental Avenue Bridge, West Dallas Gateway, and Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Among the activities are cycling, yoga, boxing, a shopping marketplace, and more.

Michael Flatley - Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games
Following his acclaimed Broadway debut, Michael Flatley will bring the Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games tour to Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie. Flatley himself will headline in what will mark his final onstage appearances as a performer following a remarkable 20-year run as the creator and star of the Lord of the Dance franchise.

Sunday, March 6

W Dallas Victory presents W Fashion Closet
The W Dallas Victory Hotel and Luxury Garage Sale will present an exclusive pop-up shop, at which you can peruse one-of-a-kind finds from designers like Chanel, Hermes, Celine, and more. Enjoy beats by DJ Ducati and complimentary champagne while you mix, mingle, and shop chic finds at the spring soiree.

Dallas Theater Center will present All the Way at Wyly Theatre through April 3.

Courtesy photo

Dallas Theater Center will present All the Way at Wyly Theatre through April 3.

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Movie Review

Michelle Pfeiffer is an unappreciated mom in Oh. What. Fun.

Photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

Michelle Pfeiffer in Oh. What. Fun.

Of all the formulaic movie genres, Christmas/holiday movies are among the most predictable. No matter what the problem is that arises between family members, friends, or potential romantic partners, the stories in holiday movies are designed to give viewers a feel-good ending even if the majority of the movie makes you feel pretty bad.

That’s certainly the case in Oh. What. Fun., in which Michelle Pfeiffer plays Claire, an underappreciated mom living in Houston with her inattentive husband, Nick (Denis Leary). As the film begins, her three children are arriving back home for Christmas: The high-strung Channing (Felicity Jones) is married to the milquetoast Doug (Jason Schwartzman); the aloof Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) brings home yet another new girlfriend; and the perpetual child Sammy (Dominic Sessa) has just broken up with his girlfriend.

Each of the family members seems to be oblivious to everything Claire does for them, especially when it comes to what she really wants: For them to nominate her to win a trip to see a talk show in L.A. hosted by Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria). When she accidentally gets left behind on a planned outing to see a show, Claire reaches her breaking point and — in a kind of Home Alone in reverse — she decides to drive across the country to get to the show herself.

Written and directed by Michael Showalter (The Idea of You), and co-written by Chandler Baker (who wrote the short story on which the film is based), the movie never establishes any kind of enjoyable rhythm. Each of the characters, including competitive neighbor Jeanne (Joan Chen), is assigned a character trait that becomes their entire personality, with none of them allowed to evolve into something deeper.

The filmmakers lean hard into the idea that Claire is a person who always puts her family first and receives very little in return, but the evidence presented in the story is sketchy at best. Every situation shown in the film is so superficial that tension barely exists, and the (over)reactions by Claire give her family members few opportunities to make up for their failings.

The most interesting part of the movie comes when Claire actually makes it to the Zazzy Sims show. Even though what happens there is just as unbelievable as anything else presented in the story, Showalter and Baker concoct a scene that allows Claire and others to fully express the central theme of the film, and for a few minutes the movie actually lives up to its title.

Pfeiffer, given her first leading role since 2020’s French Exit, is a somewhat manic presence, and her thick Texas accent and unnecessary voiceover don’t do her any favors. It seems weird to have such a strong supporting cast with almost nothing of substance to do, but almost all of them are wasted, including Danielle Brooks in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. The lone exception is Longoria, who is a blast in the few scenes she gets.

Oh. What. Fun. is far from the first movie to try and fail at becoming a new holiday classic, but the pedigree of Showalter and the cast make this dismal viewing experience extra disappointing. Ironically, overworked and underappreciated moms deserve a much better story than the one this movie delivers.

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Oh. What. Fun. is now streaming on Prime Video.

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