Event Planner

Huey Lewis & the News headline the best Dallas events for Father's Day weekend

Despite the increasing temperatures, if you want to enjoy many of this weekend's events, you're going to have to go outside. That's the bad news. The good news? All of the outdoor events are worth attending, starting with two concerts Thursday night.

Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, June 13

Huey Lewis & the News in concert
Some bands embrace their past, and some run from it. Huey Lewis & the News fit firmly in the former category, as they know that 1983's Sports, which contained such hits as "The Heart of Rock & Roll," "Heart and Soul," "I Want a New Drug" and "If This Is It," is the biggest reason they're still known today. The band celebrates the album's 30th anniversary at Annette Strauss Square.

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents Rufus Wainwright
If ever there was a multitalented individual, it is Rufus Wainwright. The singer-songwriter has not only established himself as an eccentric but honest indie artist, but he's also composed an opera, set Shakespearean sonnets to song, and acted on both stage and screen. Members of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra team up with Wainwright for this outdoor concert at Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

Friday, June 14

Lexus Broadway Series presents Traces
The Lexus Broadway Series usually brings a recent popular play or musical to Winspear Opera House, but it's ending the 2012-2013 season with something a little different in Traces. The hook is that it contains many acrobats and dancers flying around the stage, but the performers often break from routines to establish a rapport with the audience. The unique production runs through June 23.

2013 Shakespeare in the Park: A Midsummer's Night Dream
Shakespeare in the Park has been an annual tradition in Dallas since the early 1970s, and it has become even more indelible over the last eight years under Shakespeare Dallas. The 2013 series kicks off with one of Shakespeare's most memorable comedies, A Midsummer Night's Dream, at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre. It plays sporadically over the next two months, intermingling with productions of Pericles and Much Ado About Nothing.

Saturday, June 15

2013 Father's Day on the Field
The Dallas Cowboys know what many area dads want for Father's Day, and it ain't a new tie or some cologne; it's a chance to get up close and personal with some Cowboys cheerleaders. They have an opportunity to do just that at this one-day-early event, along with meeting Cowboys alumni, taking pictures with Super Bowl trophies, and pretending to be Tony Romo on the field at Jerry World.

She & Him in concert with The Secret Sisters
Nobody embodies quirkiness these days quite like Zooey Deschanel. The actress has been making hay from that image for a good 15 years now, culminating with her starring role on Fox's New Girl. Not satisfied with just making her mark in acting, she expanded to making music five years ago with producer M. Ward, forming She & Him. The duo showcase their latest album, Volume 3, at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie alongside The Secret Sisters.

Sunday, June 16

Lone Star Park presents Father’s Day Minute To Win It
The people at Lone Star Park sure like holiday contests. After offering moms a chance to dig for a diamond last month, dads now get a chance to show off their athletic skills, shooting a basketball, throwing a football and hitting a golf shot. Whoever gets the most overall points wins a grill, giving the rest of the family a good excuse to have good ol' dad slave over barbecue the rest of the summer.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science presents Plastiki Catamaran
Just a few weeks after switching to longer summer hours and introducing a new 3D movie, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science is offering even more new stuff. For the budget-minded, the Plastiki catamaran, made entirely of reclaimed plastic bottles and other recycled material, is on display through September 9 in the museum's outdoor plaza. And starting Monday, the newest exhibit, Recycle Reef, opens to the public for a nominal fee on top of normal admission price.

Huey Lewis & the News celebrate the 30th anniversary of their iconic album Sports at Annette Strauss Square on June 13.

Courtesy photo

Huey Lewis & the News celebrate the 30th anniversary of their iconic album Sports at Annette Strauss Square on June 13.

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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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