Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

It's a star-heavy weekend in and around Dallas, with big names from a variety of fields coming to town. Choices will include a film festival, the drafting of pro football players, one of the most popular musicals of all time, four huge concerts, a great comedian, well-known dancers, and more.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, April 26

2018 USA Film Festival
Among the highlights of the 2018 USA Film Festival will be a salute to actor Richard Chamberlain, who will be in attendance; Leave No Trace, writer/director Debra Granik's first film since 2010's Winter's Bone; and a closing night screening of Tully, starring Charlize Theron, written by Diablo Cody, and directed by Jason Reitman. The festival, taking place through Sunday at Angelika Film Center in Dallas, will feature 30 feature film screenings and short film programs.

2018 NFL Draft and Draft Experience
The 83rd NFL Draft will take place AT&T Stadium in Arlington, marking the first time in history that it will be held at an NFL stadium. If you're not one of the lucky few who won tickets to view the draft in person, you can still participate in the free NFL Draft Experience directly outside the stadium. Fans can participate in football drills, enjoy interactive exhibits and autograph sessions, and take pictures with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. And you can still win a chance to get in the draft, going on through Saturday, by downloading the NFL Draft Fan Mobile Pass.

Dallas Summer Musicals presents Les Misérables
Cameron Mackintosh presents the new production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony Award-winning musical phenomenon, featuring new staging and re-imagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice, and redemption. Dallas Summer Musicals will present the production at the Music Hall at Fair Park through May 6.

Theatre Three presents The Last One Nighter on the Death Trail
In the early 20th century, Elm Street in Dallas was lined with vaudeville houses and movie theaters. In this fun and raucous story, a troupe of vaudevillians in the early ‘30s wait behind a theater in Dallas for their opportunity to go on stage. They’re the "disappointment act" and only go on if someone else cancels. The production will run at Theatre Three through May 20.

Tony Bennett in concert
You don't get more legendary in the music business than Tony Bennett. The 91-year-old (!) singer has been putting out music for more than 60 years, including a 2014 duets album with Lady Gaga and 2015's The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. Bennett will take the audience at Winspear Opera House through a retrospective of his storied career.

Lewis Black: The Joke's On Us Tour
Lewis Black's live performances provide a cathartic release of anger and disillusionment for his audience. He is a passionate performer who is a more pissed-off optimist than a mean-spirited curmudgeon. Lewis is the rare comic who can cause an audience to laugh themselves into incontinence while making compelling points about the absurdity of our world. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Friday, April 27

Jack White in concert
For close to 20 years, Jack White has been a major music influencer, whether it was as part of the White Stripes, in his burgeoning solo career, or as a producer for multiple other acts at his label, Third Man Records. White will play at the Bomb Factory in support of his album, Boarding House Reach, which, just like his first two solo albums, went straight to No. 1 on its release in March.

Jack Johnson in concert
A completely different type of musical Jack will take the stage at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving. Jack Johnson is known for his laidback music that epitomizes the state where he was born, Hawaii. Best known for songs like "Upside Down" and "You and Your Heart," Johnson comes to town in support of his 2017 album, All The Light Above It Too.

"Weird Al" Yankovic in concert
Someone who writes and performs comedy songs for a living is not supposed to have an extended career, but somehow "Weird Al" Yankovic is almost as popular as ever after 35 years in the business. His latest album, 2014's Mandatory Fun, was his first No. 1 album of his career, and he's now associated with the Hamilton theater phenomenon thanks to his recent song, "The Hamilton Polka." He'll play at Majestic Theatre.

Saturday, April 28

"Maks, Val and Peta: Confidential"
Any fan of Dancing with the Stars knows the talents of professional dancers Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, and Peta Murgatroyd. "Maks, Val & Peta: Confidential" is a dance show driven by a narrative of true family life and love stories. The stars will reveal their closest secrets, hopes and dreams in their own inimitable style during this show at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie.

Sunday, April 29

2018 Asian Festival
The Greater Dallas Asian-American Chamber of Commerce present the 28th Annual Asian Festival, showcasing over 20 diverse Asian cultures. The festival provides a platform for various groups to come together to present experiences to deepen visitors' knowledge and understanding of Asia. You can enjoy performances, Asian cuisine, art, and more at Klyde Warren Park.

The NFL Draft and Draft Experience will be at AT&T Stadium through April 28.

Photo courtesy of NFL

The NFL Draft and Draft Experience will be at AT&T Stadium through April 28.

event-planner

Movie Review

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney go off in trashy film The Housemaid

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid.

Both Amanda Seyfried (the upcoming The Testament of Ann Lee) and Sydney Sweeney (Christy) are starring in movies with Oscar ambitions this year. By sheer coincidence, the two actors are also co-starring in The Housemaid, a thriller coming out within weeks of their more ambitious works, one that is likely to be seen by many more people than those prestige plays.

Sweeney is given top billing as Millie, a down-on-her-luck ex-convict looking to land any type of job so as not to break her parole. She finds a too-good-to-be-true lifeboat with Nina (Seyfried), who hires her to be a housemaid for her large house on Long Island, where she lives with her husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), and daughter, Cecilia (Indiana Elle).

After a warm interview, Nina almost immediately becomes highly erratic, whipping back-and-forth between happy-go-lucky and rageful. It seems clear that Nina is suffering from mental health issues, as she’ll often accuse Millie of misplacing or stealing items that she didn’t take. Andrew, apparently used to Nina’s tirades, tries to protect Millie from the worst, something that grows increasingly difficult as Nina ups the ante.

Directed by Paul Feig (A Simple Favor) and adapted by Rebecca Sonnenshine from the bestselling book by Freida McFadden, the film is likely the trashiest mainstream movie to come out in 2025. The first half of the movie relies not on story but on moments as Nina embodies the word “hysterical” to an unbelievable extent. The resigned acceptance of the abuse by Millie, as well as the saintly patience of Andrew, make almost every scene laughable, as nobody seems to be acting anywhere close to how a person would normally react to such extreme situations.

The scenes and the performance of Seyfried are so over-the-top, in fact, that it’s clear that the filmmakers are in on the joke. It’s next to impossible not to have a little bit of fun while watching the actors react to outrageous incidents as if nothing is out of the ordinary. The worse Nina acts, the more Millie and Andrew retreat into their chosen roles, and the funnier the film becomes.

Fans of the book will know that the story changes course, eventually turning into a more stereotypical thriller that also has some relatively gnarly visuals to offer. But the trashiness continues, with Sweeney’s, um, assets repeatedly on display in both clothed and unclothed ways. The sex appeal of the R-rated movie makes it an outlier, as recent studio films have shied away from asking their big stars to disrobe completely.

Both Seyfried and Sweeney are far from their Oscar hopeful roles here. Seyfried is given free rein to act as brazenly as she pleases, and she takes full advantage of that ability. Sweeney seems to have been told to be much more reserved, and unfortunately that results in too many wooden line readings. Sklenar continues his breakout streak (It Ends with Us, Drop) with a role that allows him to show more range than either Seyfried or Sweeney.

The Housemaid is an unusual type of movie to be released at a time of year when most films are either those aiming for awards or more family-friendly fare. Despite its many flaws, it’s still an enjoyable watch that features a variety of crazy scenarios not typically seen in movies nowadays.

---

The Housemaid is now playing in theaters.

movies film