Weekend Event Planner

These are the 8 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

With the Fourth of July falling on a Thursday, the rest of the weekend in and around Dallas is relatively light on new events. But there will still be some fun things to do, including three big-name concerts, new local theater, a visit from some favorite TV characters, wrestling from across the Pacific Ocean, and Texas teacher-turned-comedian.

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, July 4

There are plenty of Fourth of July celebrations taking place all over Dallas-Fort Worth. Click here for a roundup of the biggest and best ones.

Friday, July 5

Summer Block Party Festival with Jill Scott, Faith Evans, and Tweet
The entertainment at the Summer Block Party Festival, taking place at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, will continue a five-year tradition and commitment to excellence in soul and R&B. Among the performers will be headliner Jill Scott, whose most recent release was 2015's Woman. Other performers will include Faith Evans and Tweet.

Cry Havoc Theater Company presents Sex Ed
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, conversations about sexual impropriety are front and center in our collective consciousness. Yet, we seem to have collective amnesia when it comes to our own teenage years and the lack of honest, accurate information we received about our bodies. Cry Havoc Theater Company's devised work discusses the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees... and how "the talk" has become so politically divisive in our culture. Performances, taking place in Hamon Hall inside Winspear Opera House, will take place through July 14.

Saturday, July 6

Sesame Street Road Trip
Sesame Street will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a stop in Dallas as part of a nationwide tour. The fun, interactive family festival and stage show, taking place at Main Street Garden, will feature a giant maze, a treasure dig, photo opportunities, sweepstakes, a cookies-and-milk snack station, and more.

New Japan Pro Wrestling presents G1 Climax Tournament
New Japan Pro Wrestling will hold the opening night of the 29th annual G1 Climax tournament at American Airlines Center, taking place for the first time ever in the United States. The G1 Climax is the most prestigious tournament in pro wrestling, continuing across Japan until the August 12 finale in Tokyo. The best of NJPW’s roster will be represented in the tournament with around 20 wrestlers participating.

Santana in concert with The Doobie Brothers
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Carlos Santana comes back to Dallas with his band as part of his Supernatural Now tour. The tour commemorates two of the most important milestones in the iconic guitarist’s career: the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking, multiple Grammy-winning album Supernatural and the 50th anniversary of his momentous performance at Woodstock. He will be joined by The Doobie Brothers at Dos Equis Pavilion.

Eddie B: I'm Already Professionally Developed Tour
Houston comedian Eddie B has established himself as the official voice of teachers across the globe, presenting an uncensored, raw, and hysterically realistic portrayal of a teacher’s hectic life, from the point of view of an actual teacher. He'll perform at Winspear Opera House as part of his new tour, I'm Already Professionally Developed.

Young The Giant in concert with Fitz and the Tantrums and COIN
Fans of alternative rock will get a chance to enjoy some of the top bands in the subgenre at this concert at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory. Headliner Young The Giant is a California band that has released four albums in its career, including 2018's Mirror Master. They'll be joined by indie pop band Fitz and the Tantrums, which just released their new album, All the Feels, and COIN.

Carlos Santana will perform with The Doobie Brothers at Dos Equis Pavilion on July 6.

Photo by Jacob Power

Carlos Santana will perform with The Doobie Brothers at Dos Equis Pavilion on July 6.

families sports concerts holidays event-planner music theater

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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