Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, along with Nat Wolff and author John Green, will be in Dallas for The Fault in Our Stars Demand Our Stars Tour at South Side Ballroom on May 9.
Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox
Dallas has been chosen as one of four cities for the Demand Our Stars Tour, a special sneak preview of The Fault in Our Stars, one of summer's most anticipated movies. The tour comes to South Side Ballroom on Friday, May 9, ahead of the film's release on June 6.
The free event brings Shailene Woodley, who also starred in the recent blockbuster Divergent, to town. Joining Woodley are co-stars Ansel Elgort and Nat Wolff, as well as author John Green, who wrote the book on which the movie is based.
The four will discuss the film and its transition from book to movie, as well as show exclusive clips. The event, which officially starts at 7 pm, is first-come, first-served.
The Fault in Our Stars is one of the more popular young adult books to come out in recent years despite a potential downer of a plot. It follows Hazel, a 16-year-old girl with cancer who reluctantly starts attending cancer support group meetings. There she meets Augustus, whose cancer is in remission, with whom she starts a tentative relationship.
The book gained a rabid following because of how honestly it dealt with cancer and the potential downfalls of young people stricken with the disease starting any kind of new relationship. With all of the superhero-focused films coming out this summer, its unorthodox romance could become a major counter-programming hit.
The tour is a rare chance for fans to get up close and personal to people they'd normally only get to see on the big screen. And for the low, low price of free, it's almost too good to pass up.
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.
