The Toadies are back September 12-13 with their seventh annual Dia De Los Toadies festival, starring some of Texas' top artists, including the Old 97's and the Toadies themselves.
For the second year in a row, the music festival will take place in Fort Worth, on the banks of the Trinity River at Panther Island Pavilion. Veterans may recall that in prior years it took place at Possum Kingdom Lake and at WhiteWater Amphitheater in New Braunfels.
Joining the Toadies and Old 97's are Austin rock trio Ume, Fort Worth blues rockers Quaker City Nighthawks, reunited Dallas quintet Pleasant Grove, roots rockers Somebody's Darling, Austin pre-teen rockers Residual Kid, Fort Worth garage rockers The Longshots and synth-punkers Blank-Men.
Opening night will be an almost-acoustic evening with the Toadies and Old 97's front man Rhett Miller. Saturday will be a full-out rock show, headlined by the Toadies. This year marks the 20th anniversary of their platinum-selling album, Rubberneck, which the band will play in its entirety during the show.
Food will be available via food trucks such as Bellatrino, So-Cal Tacos, Texas BBQ by Holy Smokes, Lee's Grilled Cheese, Bombay Street Food, Butcher's Son and Gypsy Scoops. The festival will also feature a beach area where fans can cool off by taking a swim or participating in tubing and paddleboard during the show.
Tickets are on sale now through Prekindle. For information on tickets, lodging and more, visit Dia De Los Toadies.
Toadies return for the seventh annual Dio De Los Toadies in Fort Worth on September 12-13.
Photo courtesy of KirtlandRecords.com
Toadies return for the seventh annual Dio De Los Toadies in Fort Worth on September 12-13.
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.
