Weekend Event Planner

These are the 10 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

With the temperatures in Dallas continuing to stay above 100 degrees, it's difficult to justify any kind of outdoor activity during the day. Luckily, the slate of events this week will keep you mostly indoors, where you can enjoy a variety of big-name concerts, two hilarious comedians, all the art you can handle, and more.

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, July 21

Drake in concert with Future
Drake's latest album, Views, has once again set the pop culture world on fire, thanks to songs like "Hotline Bling" and Drake's innate meme-ability. He's joined at this concert at American Airlines Center by fellow rapper Future, who can't seem to get enough of Dallas, having also been the headliner at the JMBLYA Festival in May.

Todrick Hall in concert
Broadway actor, MTV star, American Idol finalist, and viral YouTube personality Todrick Hall is putting a new “twister” on L. Frank Baum’s most classic creation, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. With more than 20 original songs, Hall brings to life this American classic like you’ve never seen. The performance takes place at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Friday, July 22

Pitbull in concert with Prince Royce and special guests
The rapper Pitbull is one of the hardest working entertainers around, having released 10 albums since his debut in 2004, a nearly unprecedented pace in this day and age in the music business. He comes back to Dallas to play at American Airlines Center in support of his 2016 album, Climate Change. He's joined by Prince Royce and other special guests.

Modest Mouse and Brand New in concert
Modest Mouse and Brand New are both performing full sets at this co-headlining concert. Modest Mouse is touring in support of their 2015 album, Strangers to Ourselves, while Brand New may or may not have an album coming out later this year. Anyone who thought this event was at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, be prepared: It's actually being held outside at the Field at Verizon Theatre.

Improv Addison presents Ali Wong
Comedian Ali Wong has been on the stand-up comedy circuit for over a decade, but it wasn't until her critically acclaimed Netflix special, Baby Cobra, debuted earlier this year that she truly had her breakout moment. Recorded while she was seven months pregnant, her unique viewpoint is comedy at its finest. She's performing four times through Saturday at Improv Addison.

Saturday, July 23

Dallas Gallery Day
The member galleries of the Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas are participating in Dallas Gallery Day 2016, which features 31 spaces spanning the Design District, Deep Ellum, the Cedars, Trinity Groves, Uptown, and the Dallas Arts District. In addition to a day filled with great art and cold craft beer, gallery goers have the opportunity to scoop up the coveted Gallery Day gift bags, which contain the official Gallery Day T-shirt and are limited to 15 per space.

Verde Energy TX presents Movie Night on the Bridge: Minions
When the sun goes down, Continental Avenue Bridge will once again become an outdoor movie theater, with the downtown Dallas skyline as a backdrop. A variety of food trucks are going to be on hand to serve up great bites at this free event, which features a screening of the 2015 hit Minions.

Chris Tucker in concert
For a while, there was no hotter movie comedian than Chris Tucker. The Rush Hour trilogy, which ran between 1998 and 2007, made Tucker into a brand name. But strangely, apart from a one-off appearance in 2012's Silver Linings Playbook, he's appeared in nothing else in the 21st century. He's getting back to stand-up comedy in this appearance at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Sunday, July 24

DFW Strong Fundraiser
There have been several good ways to support the families of the five police officers killed in downtown Dallas on July 7, as well as the others injured in the attack, but this fundraiser is the most high-profile one to date. Taking place at American Airlines Center, it's going to feature appearances by Jay Novacek, Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin, Chad Henning, Charles Haley, and others, as well as food from celebrity chefs, live music, and silent and live auctions.

Bring It! Live Tour
The Bring It! Live tour is an interactive show that includes live audience voting, a live Q&A session with the Bring It! Dolls, and, for the super fans of the Lifetime reality dance show, exclusive “behind-the-scenes” insights about the television show. The performance takes place at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Chris Tucker is performing for one night only at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie on July 23.

Photo courtesy of Chris Tucker

Chris Tucker is performing for one night only at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie on July 23.

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Movie Review

Daniel Craig searches for elusive new bond in audacious film Queer

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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