Weekend Event Planner

These are the 10 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

The theme of the weekend in and around Dallas is entertainment with a purpose. Different events will feature film, theater, and forums designed to spur conversation beyond the events themselves. You can also take in circus combined with classical music, a guitar legend, a hilarious basketball team, a great rock group, and two stellar art exhibits.

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, January 25

Denton Black Film Festival
The Denton Black Film Festival will present a lineup of nearly 50 films at its 2018 edition, offering a platform that showcases filmmakers and films that tell diverse, dynamic stories. While the screenings take place at Campus Theatre through Sunday, the festival will also include a poetry slam, panels and workshops, music, comedy, and more.

Dallas Summer Musicals presents The Color Purple
The Color Purple is the 2016 Tony Award winner for Best Musical Revival, a re-imagining of an epic story about a young woman’s journey to love and triumph in the American South. This joyous American classic conquered Broadway with a soul-raising score of jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues, giving an exhilarating new spirit to the Pulitzer Prize-winning story. The musical, which stars McKinney native Adrianna Hicks, will run at the Music Hall at Fair Park through February 4.

Friday, January 26

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Cirque de la Symphonie: Cirque Goes to the Cinema
Acrobats literally will drop into the Meyerson Symphony Center as conductor Ruth Reinhardt and the Dallas Symphony are joined by Cirque de la Symphonie. Aerialists, contortionists, strongmen, and jugglers will perform to above and around the orchestra as they play. There will be three performances through Sunday.

Joe Satriani in concert
Joe Satriani is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time, mentoring other guitar greats like Steve Vai, Andy Timmons, and more. He's also been part of the supergroup Chickenfoot, which included ex-Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. He'll play at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving in support of his new album, What Happens Next.

Cara Mía Theatre Co. & Human Rights Initiative present Women Speak, Men Listen
Driven by the #metoo and #timesup social media movements in response to accusations and evidence citing misconduct from powerful men across many industries, Cara Mía Theatre Co. and Human Rights Initiative are presenting a platform to hear and honor women’s voices. There will be two forums over the weekend — Friday at Pan African Connections and Saturday at Latino Cultural Center.

WaterTower Theatre presents Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue
Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Quiara Alegría Hudes takes a poignant look at the way war permeates young men’s lives in a play spanning three generations of the same Puerto Rican-American family. Different wars and different tales are strung together as the mother of a wounded soldier seeks to reconcile the disparate parts and heal emotional wounds. The play will run at WaterTower Theatre in Addison through February 18.

Saturday, January 27

Nasher Sculpture Center presents "First Sculpture: Handaxe to Figure Stone" opening day
"First Sculpture: Handaxe to Figure Stone" is the first museum exhibition to present ancient handaxes and figure stones as works of art. "First Sculpture" will present these objects as evidence of the earliest forms of artistic intention, highlighting the aesthetic qualities of each stone and providing crucial historical and scientific information to give the viewer a deeper understanding of human history. The exhibit will be on display through April 29.

American Airlines Center presents The Original Harlem Globetrotters
The Original Harlem Globetrotters will bring their action-packed tour to American Airlines Center for two games. The globetrotting team is known for their ball handling wizardry, basketball artistry, and one-of-a-kind family entertainment. After each game, Globetrotter stars will stay for an autograph, photograph, and high-five session for fans.

The Killers in concert
For almost the past 20 years, it seems like The Killers were just on the cusp of becoming the biggest band in the world. They scored with hits like "Mr. Brightside," "When You Were Young," and "Human," but they always stopped just short of crossover success. In fact, it wasn't until their latest album, 2017's Wonderful Wonderful, that they had a No. 1 album. They'll play at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory with opening act Amanda Brown.

Sunday, January 28

Dallas Museum of Art presents "Truth: 24 Frames Per Second" closing day
Sunday will be your final chance to see the first major exhibition in the Dallas Museum of Art’s history dedicated to time-based media. “Truth: 24 Frames Per Second” brings together 24 pioneers of film and video and over six decades of work focused on pressing contemporary themes, such as race relations, political unrest, sexual identity and the media, to explore the nature of truth and reality in contemporary life. As a bonus, admission to the exhibit is now free.

The Harlem Globetrotters will play two games at American Airlines Center on January 27.

Photo courtesy of Harlem Globetrotters

The Harlem Globetrotters will play two games at American Airlines Center on January 27.

event-planner

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.

---

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

movies film