Halloween Happenings

Get spooked — and win cash — at the best Halloween parties in Dallas

It's Halloween time, which means that you can do whatever you want. Not really, but it feels like that sometimes. Halloween falls on a Thursday, which means that most of the partying takes place this weekend in a lead up to it. It basically gives you an entire week of spooky activities to take in. Happy haunting.

Friday, October 25

The Ballpark in Arlington hosts four nights of family-friendly fun with its “Trick or Tours” event featuring crafts, stories, games and treats for the young ones. Spend craft time in the press box, story time in the media room and get a picture of your child in the Texas Rangers dugout. After the tour, enjoy kid-friendly games on the concourse. The tours run on October 25 at 4, 6 and 8 pm; October 26 at 2, 4, 6 and 8 pm; Halloween night at 5:30 pm; and November 2 at 2, 4 and 6 pm. Tickets are $20 per child and $10 per adult with a 10 percent discount for multi-child families and Texas Food Truckin’ Fest attendees. To make reservations or for more info, call 817-273-5099 or email bball@texasrangers.com.

Saturday, October 26

Martin House Brewery in Fort Worth hosts a Boo-ery Tour from noon to 5 pm with live music, a costume contest and “a scary amount of beer.” For the price of $10, you get a pint glass and three Martin House samples — including a small-batch Halloween beer — plus access to a handful of up-and-coming breweries such as Grapevine Craft Brewery and Noble Rey Brewing Co. Kids are welcome, and candy ensures they stay hyper.

The Gin Mill teams up with the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas for a Halloween Yappy Hour from 4 to 6 pm on the patio. The pet-friendly event features a “Best Pet Costume” and “Best Pet/Owner Costumes.” Cost is $10 per person and includes a draught rotator, $5 Greyhounds and happy hour prices ($1 off cocktails, wine by the glass and beer). Tickets are available at the door.

The 2013 Halloween Block Party on Cedar Springs starts at 6 pm for a night of dancing, drinking and celebrating in the biggest block party in Texas. Hop from bars to clubs and back again in your most outrageous costumes. If you need a breather, step outside onto Cedar Springs for a beer from the many booths, or to take in the show on the costume catwalk in the middle of the street.

Shinsei hosts an After Dark Costume Party with DJ Andre stepping up to the table at 9:30 pm. Partygoers are encouraged to go all out with their costumes, and first prize for most creative costume is $150 to Shinsei. Enjoy drinks from the signature cocktail and bar menu. Entry is free.

Hotel Zaza makes it a spooky evening of fun and drinks with magicians and makeup artists for a party from 10 pm to 2 pm. Tickets are $75 and must be picked up at Hotel Zaza. There is also bottle service and table reservations. Call 888-880-3244 to RSVP.

Sunday, October 27

If you can recover for some Sunday funday, Hotel Zaza’s Sunday School is back in full force from noon to 2 pm with a multi-course brunch, a bottle of champagne per duo and entertainment to keep the party going. Seats are $50 per person, and you can RSVP at sbarr@hotelzaza.com.

Monday, October 28

Urban Taco brings the pumpkin to the cocktail with the SpookiRita. Available from October 28-31, the SpookiRita is a pumpkin pie frozen margarita rimmed with graham cracker crust crumbles. It is available at both the Uptown and Mockingbird Station locations for $5. Any guests that show up in costume receives one complimentary SpookiRita. Guests who change their costumes after every SpookiRita in hopes of getting more will probably be asked to leave.

The Ballpark in Arlington is also hosting a “Flashlight Fright” night for older kids and adults. A special nighttime tour of the ballpark, led only by flashlight, includes a trip to the Rangers bullpen, a walk around the warning track and a few surprising spookings. The tours are October 28-30 at 7:30 pm and are $14 per person. It’s BYOF; flashlights are not included. For more info or to make reservations, call 817-273-5099 or email bball@texasrangers.com.

Wednesday, October 30

The People’s Last Stand hosts The People’s Last Halloween beginning at 8 pm. Yours truly is co-hosting the event with Dallas Diva Farah Fleurima as guests snack on complimentary bites, sip the wide array of craft cocktails and enjoy music by DJ Blake Ward. There is also a fortune teller, and prizes are being awarded for the two best costumes. The event is free, and each guest receives coupons for two complimentary drink tickets.

Thursday, October 31

Sissy’s hosts its second annual Halloween Hoedown complete with live music and a bevy of cocktail options beginning at 5 pm. Bring your overalls and let your inner hillbilly out as the most imaginative hillbilly costume receives a special prize. If you’re not up for the country side of things, all costume wearers are entered into a raffle, and best dressed costumes receive $200, $100 and $50 in cash. Drinks are $8 and include Slaughtered Mule made with Titos, Texas Bloodhound made with Jim Beam Jacobs Ghost and Zombie Handshake made with Patron.

The Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson celebrates Halloween in its own unique way with Alaween Halloween Carnival, complete with a Scooby Doo Mystery Machine Bounce House, pumpkin decorating, face painting, costume contest with prizes, DJ Playdate spinning spooky tunes, trick or treating in the theaters, classic Halloween TV specials on a loop, and Halloween-themed cocktails available for purchase for the parents in Glass Half Full and creepy crawly punch for the kids.

The Flying Saucer in Addison hosts its third installment of the Creature Feature series, A Nightmare on Ale Street, from 5 to 10 pm. The featured beers are Avery Mephistopheles, Ommegang Art of Darkness and Left Hand Wake Up Dead. The fire sale is Newcastle’s Werewolf. There is a $100 prize for best costume.

Saturday, November 2

The Polyphonic Spree presents the first Halloween Hootenanny. The performance features songs from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, something the band has done only once in the U.S. as a headline show. This is the last performance of Rocky Horror at Lakewood Theater of 2013. The Spree also performs some of its favorite songs, and the event includes a costume contest, door prizes and a post-concert screening of the movie.

Enjoy a full week of Halloween activities around town for all ages.

Photo by Pedro Ferreira Flickr

Enjoy a full week of Halloween activities around town for all ages.

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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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