Weekend Event Planner

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

While most big events in and around Dallas have either been postponed or canceled during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there are a few that have popped up to offer the masses some entertainment while still adhering to the necessary social distancing measures.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. While they're not all outside of the house, they all promise to provide a nice distraction from the everyday life.

Thursday, September 10

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Bronfman Plays Beethoven"
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will continue its season with "Bronfman Plays Beethoven," featuring pianist Yefim Bronfman playing Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto. The concert, conducted by Fabio Luisi and playing three times through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center, will also feature Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8. These concerts and other forthcoming concerts are currently available to subscribers only.

Friday, September 11

Fair Play at the Statler
Statler Hotel's ballroom will transform into Fair Play at the Statler, an interactive State Fair-inspired installation and activity zone. The event, taking place on the weekends through September 20, will feature artistic built-out activations such as an Elvis butter sculpture and Cotton Candy Corral, kids’ activities, games, food and drink tastings, and more. Additionally, the onsite restaurant and gaming hub Scout, and its outdoor space, will transform into “TX Fare & Midway,” where patrons can enjoy State Fair-inspired fare, drink specials, and games such as horseshoes, cornhole, skee-ball, billiards, washers, and more.

Improv Addison presents Paul Rodriguez
Longtime comedian Paul Rodriguez has been making audiences laugh all over the world (in Spanish and English) for nearly three decades with his unique brand of humor that is a perfect blend of his Latin heritage, the American dream, and his undeniable universal appeal. Rodriguez will perform at Improv Addison five times through Sunday.

Ida Y Vuelta Flamenco presents "Flamenco Fever: Memorias Flamencas"
"Flamenco Fever: Memorias Flamencas" features the father of flamenco jazz, Jorge Pardo, a world-renowned flute and saxophone artist who recently won a Grammy as a contributor in Chick Corea's Best Latin Jazz Album, Antidote. This show, taking place at Annette Strauss Square, will kick off a fall series of concerts at the outdoor venue.

Addison Weekend Drive-In Concert Series
The Addison Weekend Drive-In Concert Series, where guests can listen to live music from a variety of Dallas-Fort Worth bands, wraps up this weekend with two final events. Attendees will be able to enjoy the shows from the comfort of their vehicles, or bring lawn chairs to sit next to a car. Music will be transmitted via both speaker system and FM radio. This weekend features performances by Raised Right Men on Friday and The Redwine Band on Saturday. The concerts take place in a parking lot just south of Addison Circle Park.

Saturday, September 12

Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents Legacy Performance Series
Dallas Black Dance Theatre will present the first virtual showcase of its 44th season. The Legacy Performance + Dancemaker's Discussion will feature From Within, choreographed by Nijawwon Matthews. Following the virtual performance the audience will be able to talk live to Matthews and the dancers. Viewers must register in advance for the event on Zoom.

Carbaret: Ford v. Ferrari Drive-In & Car Show
The latest Carbaret, taking place at Brizo in Richardson, will feature a special screening of Ford v. Ferrari. There will be car show with Mustang Shelby Mustangs and Ferraris onsite, and DJ Devin Pike will be spinning Detroit Motor City & Italian rock to fuel the night. In honor of the Italian race car driver and automaker Enzo Ferarri, they'll be offering an Italian menu prepared by Aboca's Italian Chef Artur Piro.

Sunday, September 13

Kluber Family Foundation presents Curveball for a Cause Celebrity Gala
Pitcher Corey Kluber's first season with the Texas Rangers has not gone as planned, as he went on the injured list after just one inning in his first game. But Kluber will continue his philanthropic efforts with the inaugural Curveball for a Cause Celebrity Gala, now a virtual event. Fox Sports Southwest anchor John Rhadigan will act as emcee, and Kluber and several of his Rangers teammates will make virtual appearances. Proceeds will support the Kluber Family Foundation’s community outreach programs.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents Legacy Performance Series, a virtual event, on September 12.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents From Within

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents Legacy Performance Series, a virtual event, on September 12.

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Movie Review

Comedy all-stars Jack Black and Paul Rudd can't save Anaconda sequel

Photo by Matt Grace

Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda.

In Hollywood’s never-ending quest to take advantage of existing intellectual property, seemingly no older movie is off limits, even if the original was not well-regarded. That’s certainly the case with 1997’s Anaconda, which is best known for being a lesser entry on the filmography of Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, as well as some horrendous accent work by Jon Voight.

The idea behind the new meta-sequel Anaconda is arguably a good one. Four friends — Doug (Jack Black), Griff (Paul Rudd), Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and Kenny (Steve Zahn) — who made homemade movies when they were teenagers decide to remake Anaconda on a shoestring budget. Egged on by Griff, an actor who can’t catch a break, the four of them pull together enough money to fly down to Brazil, hire a boat, and film a script written by Doug.

Naturally, almost nothing goes as planned in the Amazon, including losing their trained snake and running headlong into a criminal enterprise. Soon enough, everything else takes second place to the presence of a giant anaconda that is stalking them and anyone else who crosses its path.

Written and directed by Tom Gormican, with help from co-writer Kevin Etten, the film is designed to be an outrageous comedy peppered with laugh-out-loud moments that cover up the fact that there’s really no story. That would be all well and good … if anything the film had to offer was truly funny. Only a few scenes elicit any honest laughter, and so instead the audience is fed half-baked jokes, a story with no focus, and actors who ham it up to get any kind of reaction.

The biggest problem is that the meta-ness of the film goes too far. None of the core four characters possess any interesting traits, and their blandness is transferred over to the actors playing them. And so even as they face some harrowing situations or ones that could be funny, it’s difficult to care about anything they do since the filmmakers never make the basic effort of making the audience care about them.

It’s weird to say in a movie called Anaconda, but it becomes much too focused on the snake in the second half of the film. If the goal is to be a straight-up comedy, then everything up to and including the snake attacks should be serving that objective. But most of the time the attacks are either random or moments when the characters are already scared, and so any humor that could be mined all but disappears.

Black and Rudd are comedy all-stars who can typically be counted on to elevate even subpar material. That’s not the case here, as each only scores on a few occasions, with Black’s physicality being the funniest thing in the movie. Newton is not a good fit with this type of movie, and she isn’t done any favors by some seriously bad wigs. Zahn used to be the go-to guy for funny sidekicks, but he brings little to the table in this role.

Any attempt at rebooting/remaking an old piece of IP should make a concerted effort to differentiate itself from the original, and in that way, the new Anaconda succeeds. Unfortunately, that’s its only success, as the filmmakers can never find the right balance to turn it into the bawdy comedy they seemed to want.

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Anaconda is now playing in theaters.

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