Weekend Event Planner

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

For anyone who's missed big concerts in Dallas, this is your weekend as there will be two huge ones at one of the area's best venues. Another venue will host a well-known comedian and two big R&B artists, while another will bring in some high-quality basketball/comedy. There will also be a unique dance performance, comedy from a man with a more-famous brother, a concert from a hometown band that everyone knows, and more.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend.

Thursday, August 12

Bombshell Dance Project presents The Great 30
Inspired by the experimental nature of the Elevator Project, Bombshell Dance Project's The Great 30 is an interactive, site-specific dance performance taking place at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Using the entirety of the campus as a stage, Bombshell Dance Project will lead audiences on an active tour of the Center, including its outdoor spaces, during which they not only change locations with the performers, but also move with them. The performances, taking place through Sunday, will start in Sammons Park outside Winspear Opera House.

Improv Arlington presents Tony Rock
Being the brother of an established entertainer, Tony Rock was able to successfully elude the shadows of his older sibling, Chris, and step into his own limelight. After decades of experience, Tony has proven himself as a skillful comedian, actor, and executive producer. He'll perform six times through Sunday at Improv Arlington.

Friday, August 13

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians in concert
It's always great when hometown bands stay true to where they came from, and Edie Brickell & New Bohemians will do just that with two concerts at The Kessler in support of their new album, Hunter and the Dog Star. The band, which is best known for their 1988 debut album, Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, has been seemingly rejuvenated in recent years, releasing two albums since 2018.

Alanis Morissette in concert
After a year's delay due to the pandemic, Alanis Morissette will finally come back to Dallas to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her iconic 1995 album, Jagged Little Pill. Although that album will be rightfully saluted, Morissette also released a new album in 2020, Such Pretty Forks in the Road. She'll be joined at this concert at Dos Equis Pavilion by fellow '90s musicians, Garbage and Liz Phair.

Andrew Schulz: The Infamous Tour
Even though he's 37 years old, comedian Andrew Schulz could still be considered an up-and-comer in the industry. He didn't start to get real success until 2017 when he released his debut comedy special, 4:4:1, which was followed the next year by his debut comedy album, 5:5:1. He's gone on to co-host two podcasts, and had a four-part Netflix special, Schulz Saves America, come out in December 2020. He'll perform at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Saturday, August 14

Angelika Film Center presents Studio Ghibli Festival
The Angelika Film Centers in both Dallas and Plano are currently presenting some of the greatest animated films of all time from the celebrated Studio Ghibli. Praised for their originality, stunning animation, and ambitious storytelling, each film is a beloved part of Japanese culture and critically acclaimed around the world. Saturday shows are dubbed in English, followed by shows on Mondays are presented in Japanese with English subtitles. Princess Mononoke will show this weekend, followed by Kiki’s Delivery Service on August 21 and 23 and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind on August 28 and 30.

The Harlem Globetrotters Spread Game Tour
The World-Famous Harlem Globetrotters are bringing their newly reimagined Spread Game tour to Dallas. Ankle-breaking moves, jaw-dropping swag, and rim-rattling dunks are only some of the thrill that can be expected from this fully modernized show. Part streetball from the players who defined it, part interactive family entertainment, the new tour will show off the best of the Globetrotters in a dazzling exhibition of talent and game. There will be two performances on Saturday at American Airlines Center.

Kem in concert with Babyface
It'll be paradise for lovers of R&B music at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving when Kem and Babyface co-headline this special concert. Kem has been churning out hit albums for almost 20 years, notching three top 2 albums on Billboard's R&B charts. His latest, Love Always Wins, came out in 2020. Babyface is almost better known as a producer than as a singer, but his 10 studio albums have consistently reached the top 10 on the Billboard R&B charts, most recently 2016's Tender Lover.

Brad Paisley in concert
There have been few country artists as reliable as Brad Paisley over the past 20+ years. He delivers a new album every couple of years, and his quality has remained so high that each of his past nine albums has gone to No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts, including 2017's Love and War. He'll play at Dos Equis Pavilion with special guests Jimmie Allen and Kameron Marlowe.

The Harlem Globetrotters Spread Game Tour will have two games at American Airlines Center on August 14.

Photo courtesy of Harlem Globetrotters

The Harlem Globetrotters Spread Game Tour will have two games at American Airlines Center on August 14.

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Movie Review

The Invite delivers smart, sexy laughs with an all-star cast

Photo courtesy of A24

Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in The Invite.

Once upon a time, well before scandal embroiled him, Woody Allen made great comedies aimed at adults. That type of film - which is different from the raunchy, R-rated comedies of the 21st century - has fallen out of favor in Hollywood, but as the new film The Invite proves, when done well it can be as funny as anything else out there.

Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) are an unhappily married couple living in San Francisco. As we meet them, Joe has arrived home to Angela preparing for a visit from their upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), who have moved in relatively recently. Their impending arrival starts a new round of arguing between Joe and Angela, something they can barely contain once the other couple comes to their door.

What proceeds is a getting-to-know-you process that is mostly awkward as Joe and Angela continue sniping at each other while Hawk and Piña put in their two cents in a much calmer manner. A sticking point between the two couples - the loud sex Hawk and Piña have on an almost nightly basis - turns the film on its head with an unexpected invitation.

Directed by Wilde and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film is a fast-paced chamber piece that takes place almost entirely in Joe and Angela’s apartment. Wilde, the writers, and the actors speed the story along not with action but through almost non-stop dialogue that often has the characters overlapping each other’s lines. The rapidity of the speech fuels the humor of the situation and establishes the differing personalities of each person.

Sex is very much top of mind for each of the characters for most of the film, but the filmmakers approach the topic in such a way that it never feels salacious. Each of the characters is a rational adult who can talk about sex in a mature manner while also acknowledging their unique feelings on the matter. And it’s the discoveries each of them makes along the way that brings about the most comedy.

But, like any comedy for adults, the film also has a dramatic tilt to it, and Wilde edges the story back-and-forth between the two tones extremely well. Joe and Angela fighting is played for laughs at times, but the sadness of their relationship comes through loud and clear. Hawk and Piña are much more intimate with each other, but the funniness of their openness is juxtaposed with a depth that arises through their conversations.

In the 2020s, Rogen has managed to make the transition from goofy stoner to stoner with real acting chops. In a stacked cast, he is the one who sells every moment the best. That’s not to say that Wilde, Norton, and Cruz don’t measure up, though; each of them inhabits their respective roles magnificently. The four actors play off each other as if they had been working together for years.

While The Invite will likely play better to those who have experience with long term relationships, its insights - and occasional bawdiness - make it a comedy that can be appreciated universally. With four actors at the top of their games and a razor-sharp script made even better by some well-done improv, it proves that you don’t need to go low to get great laughs.

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The Invite is now playing in theaters.

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