Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

This weekend in and around Dallas is full of entertainers who have enjoyed success, but not so much that their fame has overwhelmed them. There will be four concerts with big-name singers or groups, two comedy events, a new local theater production, a detailed look at a hot-button issue, and a revisiting of a classic blockbuster movie.

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, August 1

Carly Rae Jepsen in concert
Pop star Carly Rae Jepsen might have remained a local celebrity in her native Canada had not fate and Justin Bieber intervened when he signal-boosted her eventual smash hit, "Call Me Maybe," in 2011. The resulting fame led to other hits like "Good Time" with Owl City and "I Really Like," though neither reached the heights of that first hit. Jepsen will play at House of Blues Dallas in support of her new album, Dedicated.

Friday, August 2

Daniel Sloss: X
Daniel Sloss is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning Scottish comedian. He has performed three solo New York seasons off-Broadway, and Netflix released two hour-long specials, DARK and Jigsaw, in 2018. He's also made appearances on talk shows like Conan and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He'll perform a one-night-only show at Majestic Theatre.

Hammer's House Party with MC Hammer, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Kid 'n Play, 2 Live Crew, and The Funky Bunch
Rapper MC Hammer was all the rage in the early '90s, unleashing hits like "U Can't Touch This," "Pray," and "2 Legit 2 Quit." After almost 25 years in relative obscurity, he's back to host Hammer's House Party at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, a concert that will feature performances by other '80s and '90s rappers and singers like Sir Mix-a-Lot, Kid 'n Play, 2 Live Crew, Sisqo, and The Funky Bunch.

Blink-182 and Lil Wayne in concert
You wouldn't necessarily put rock band Blink-182 and rapper Lil Wayne together, but that's what this co-headlining tour is offering. Blink-182 will also be performing their pivotal 1999 album, Enema of the State, from start to finish, along with other hits. Lil Wayne, if he actually shows up, is touring in support of his 2018 album, Tha Carter V. The concert will be at Dos Equis Pavilion.

Imprint Theatreworks presents Kentucky
Kentucky is a biting comedy about Hiro, an Asian-American, self-made woman making it in New York. She is also estranged from her dysfunctional family in Kentucky. When her little sister, a born-again Christian, decides to marry at 22, Hiro takes it upon herself to do whatever she can to stop the wedding and salvage any shred of hope she had for her sister's future. The play will run at Arts Mission Oak Cliff through August 17.

Saturday, August 3

Bishop Arts Theatre Center presents Incarceration, Execution, and the Human Face of the Criminal Justice System
Best-selling author Sanderia Faye is joined by Jim Buffington (Bridges to Life Chief Operating Officer), Jay Gumm (Forgiven Felons Founder), and Richard Miles (Miles of Freedom Founder), for a candid conversation that will take the audience behind bars into the criminal justice system. Framing this community conversation at Bishop Arts Theatre Center will be readings from Faye’s new book, Eleven.

Wiz Khalifa in concert
Rapper Wiz Khalifa has been at the top of the hip-hop genre since the release of his 2011 album, Rolling Papers, which contained the inescapable hit "Black and Yellow." Since then, he's fostered collaborations with other artists and songs on not one, but two Fast & Furious movies, including the smash hit "See You Again" with Charlie Puth. He'll perform at Dos Equis Pavilion in support of his new mixtape, Fly Times Vol. 1: The Good Fly Young.

Funnier than a Mutha#*@%!& Comedy Festival: Ladies Night Out
Hosted by NeNe Leakes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, The Funnier than a Mutha#*@%!& Comedy Festival: Ladies Night Out will feature performances by comedians like Loni Love, Sherri Shepherd, Adele Givens, Jess Hilarious, Kym Whitley, and Janelle James. The festival will take place at The Theatre in Grand Prairie.

Sunday, August 4

Majestic Theatre presents Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope
It's been more than 40 years since the original Star Wars came out and changed the face of movies forever. As we eagerly await the release of the latest but certainly not last Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker, you can travel back to a simpler time when four characters — Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca — banded together to try to defeat the evil Empire. The screening will be at Majestic Theatre.

Blink-182 and Lil Wayne will perform at Dos Equis Pavilion on August 2.

Photo by Randall Slavin

Blink-182 and Lil Wayne will perform at Dos Equis Pavilion on August 2.

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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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