The Perot Museum of Nature and Science hasn't exactly been hurting for visitors since it opened in December 2012. But that's all child's play compared to what awaits the hottest museum in town once school lets out. Summer is coming, and that means more hours of entertainment for parents to fill.
For Memorial Day weekend, the museum will stay open until 9 pm, Friday through Monday, giving you an extra few hours to rub shoulders with dinosaurs, experience an earthquake, conduct a science experiment, or participate in one of the other myriad hands-on activities sprinkled throughout the five-story building.
If you're a member, the deal's even better, as early admission hours (normally only available on Saturdays and Sundays) will be offered on Memorial Day as well. Starting Tuesday, May 28, the museum will switch to extended hours for the rest of the summer, staying open an extra hour every day through August 25.
If that's not enough, the museum will also unveil a new attraction. On May 25, Waking the T. Rex 3D: The Story of SUE, a science-adventure film that chronicles the largest, most complete T. Rex ever found, takes over for Meerkats 3D in the Hoglund Foundation Theater. The 23-minute film is no mere documentary, as it uses animation to imagine how the dinosaur might have looked and acted throughout her life.
Of course, the biggest added benefit of all is that the museum is a huge, air-conditioned area that takes hours to navigate, a perfect option for soon-to-be scorching summer days.
Scene from Waking the T. Rex 3D, the new film playing in the Hoglund Foundation Theater at the Perot Museum.
Photo courtesy of Giant Screen Films
Scene from Waking the T. Rex 3D, the new film playing in the Hoglund Foundation Theater at the Perot Museum.
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.
