Weekend Event Planner

Garth Brooks and his umpteen shows headline best weekend events in Dallas

It often happens that when you miss an event, you'll never get a chance to see it again. That won't happen this weekend, as the majority of events worth attending will have multiple iterations, allowing you to attend when it's convenient for you.

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, September 17

Dallas Central Library presents The Vinyl Frontier
Vinyl records are in the midst of a resurgence, and the Dallas Public Library is appealing to hipsters and music nerds alike by celebrating the 33 1/3 birthday of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Libary with a spotlight on its vinyl collection. The reception will feature free refreshments, a DJ spinning actual albums, and a chance to buy some of the records from the collection.

Dallas Theater Center presents The Mountaintop
Dallas Theater Center is in the midst of presenting the world premiere of Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical, but that's not stopping the ambitious company from starting a polar opposite show, The Mountaintop. This intimate drama, taking place in the Studio Theatre at Wyly Theatre, imagines what was happening on the last night of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life. It stars Hassan El-Amin and Tiana Johnson and will run through November 15.

Garth Brooks in concert with Trisha Yearwood
Garth Brooks teased Dallas-Fort Worth-area fans when he came to Houston well over two months ago, but he's finally coming to town to perform concerts for the first time in 17 years. Brooks, playing in support of his latest album, Man Against Machine, will play seven shows over the course of six days at American Airlines Center, with help as always from wife and fellow country superstar Trisha Yearwood. It will be a feat of crowd control at the AAC.

Friday, September 18

Dallas Arts District Fall Block Party
The three Dallas Arts District museums — Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, and Crow Collection of Asian Art — always hold their own events the third Friday of every month, but they'll join forces once again for this block party. There will be concerts, film screenings, special art discussions and tours, food trucks lining the streets, and much more. You can even head down to One Arts Plaza for more music and fun.

Twyla Tharp Dance Fiftieth Anniversary Tour
One of the most renowned choreographers in history, Twyla Tharp has put together a special Fiftieth Anniversary show that is premiering in Dallas. Tharp has choreographed for both modern dance and ballet companies, television, Broadway, and movies, so this show is sure to dazzle. It will have two performances at Winspear Opera House through Saturday.

Chris Hardwick in concert
If you don't know who Chris Hardwick is, you must be avoiding media of all types since he's almost literally everywhere. Host of the Nerdist podcast, @midnight on Comedy Central, and Talking Dead on AMC, among many other things, Hardwick is one of the hardest working people in show business. He'll bring his stand-up comedy act to the Majestic Theatre.

Plano Balloon Festival
Sometimes it's the simple things in life that cause the most joy, and seeing a hot air balloon light up the dark sky certainly qualifies. The annual Plano Balloon Festival at Oak Point Park features two evening balloon glows — one Friday and one Saturday — early morning balloon liftoffs, skydivers, fireworks, concerts, a kids zone, and more. It will run through Sunday.

Saturday, September 19

Dallas Arboretum presents 2015 Autumn at the Arboretum
We're a few days away from the first official day of fall/autumn, but the Dallas Arboretum will jump-start the season with its annual Autumn at the Arboretum. The event, lasting through the day before Thanksgiving, features 150,000 fall-blooming flowers such as chrysanthemums and impatiens and a record 75,000 pumpkins, gourds, and squash in the always-impressive Pumpkin Village.

Performing Arts Fort Worth presents Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
One of the most enduring shows, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is the family musical about the trials and triumphs of Joseph, Israel's favorite son. Featuring songs like "Go Go Go Joseph," "Any Dream Will Do," and "Close Every Door, the production will play at Bass Performance Hall Friday through Sunday.

Sunday, September 20

2015 Shakespeare in the Park: King Lear
The fall edition of Shakespeare Dallas' Shakespeare in the Park will showcase King Lear, about an aging monarch who chooses to retire and divide his kingdom between his three daughters, only two of which are loyal. The production will run at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre through September 26, and will then transfer to Addison Circle Park to play October 1-11.

Garth Brooks will play seven shows in six days, September 17-22, at American Airlines Center.

Photo by J. Thomas Ford

Garth Brooks will play seven shows in six days, September 17-22, at American Airlines Center.

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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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