Weekend Event Planner

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

This weekend around Dallas is notable for the number of big-name concerts playing on nostalgia. No fewer than four concerts will feature singers or groups who made their names years ago yet still know how to draw a crowd. There will also be a big Broadway musical, a cat film festival, and three great comedy shows.

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, August 22

Dallas VideoFest presents #DVFCatFest
Dallas VideoFest presents CatFest, curated by the annual NY Cat Film Festival. The festival is a philanthropic celebration through film of humankind's relationship with the mysterious felines who share our world. Dallas Pets Alive! will be the event's beneficiary, with 10 percent of the box-office proceeds benefiting their work on behalf of cats and dogs in need of fostering and adopting in Dallas. The event takes place at Texas Theatre.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Broadway Series: Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka is opening his marvelous and mysterious chocolate factory … to a lucky few. That includes Charlie Bucket, whose bland life is about to burst with color and confection beyond his wildest dreams. He and four other golden ticket winners will embark on a mesmerizing joyride through a world of pure imagination. The Broadway musical will play at Winspear Opera House through Sunday.

Marc Maron: Hey, There's More Tour
For more than 20 years, Marc Maron has been writing and performing raw, honest, and thought-provoking comedy. He has appeared on Conan O’Brien's multiple shows more than any other comedian. He starred in his own sitcom, Maron, on IFC, co-stars in GLOW on Netflix, and continues to put out two episodes a week of his podcast, WTF with Marc Maron. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Improv Addison presents Chris Redd
Chris Redd is an actor, writer, standup, sketch, and improv performer who most recently joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. He's appeared in movies like Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping, The House, A Futile and Stupid Gesture opposite Will Forte, and Fat Camp. He's also been on TV shows like Disjointed, Love, and more. He'll perform standup comedy at Improv Addison six times through Sunday.

Mary J. Blige and Nas in concert
Two of hip-hop and R&B’s most legendary artists — Mary J. Blige and Nas — will come to Dallas together for the first time ever. The hit-making heavyweights will be bringing a stacked setlist of songs spanning both of their careers. Blige's most recent album was 2017's Strength of a Woman, while Nas' latest album was 2018's Nasir. The concert will take place at Dos Equis Pavilion.

Friday, August 23

Heart in concert with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Elle King
Classic and modern rock will join forces at Dos Equis Pavilion on Friday night. Heart is primarily known as a '70s and '80s group, but they continue to release new music, including 2016's Beautiful Broken. Joan Jett is also rock royalty for her time with The Runaways and as leader of the Blackhearts for the past 40 years. Elle King hopes to live up to that reputation one day, and she's off to a good start, thanks to songs like "Ex's and Oh's."

Saturday, August 24

The Smashing Pumpkins in concert with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
While both The Smashing Pumpkins and Noel Gallagher (formerly of Oasis) continue to make music, many of their fans likely still love them because of their output in the late '90s/early 2000s, when both were at or near the top of charts. The concert at Dos Equis Pavilion will have the Smashing Pumpkins playing in support of their 2018 album, Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun, with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds serving as opening act.

Desus & Mero in concert
If you don't already know who Desus Nice & The Kid Mero are, it's time to catch up, as they are quickly taking over the podcast world and late-night game. The comedians and podcasters are known for their podcast, The Bodega Boys, a late-night show on Viceland, and their new weekly late-night show on Showtime, Desus & Mero. They'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Sunday, August 25

TLC, Nelly, and Flo Rida in concert
The weekend will close out with a throwback hip-hop concert featuring TLC, Nelly, and Flo Rida at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving. All three groups/artists are mostly working on nostalgia at this point in their careers, as TLC's latest album was 2017's TLC, Nelly's latest album was 2013's M.O., and Flo Rida's latest album was 2012's Wild Ones, although he is scheduled to release a new album later this year.

Heart will play at Dos Equis Pavilion alongside Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Elle King.

Photo courtesy of Live Nation

Heart will play at Dos Equis Pavilion alongside Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Elle King.

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