Scary Good Times

Where to get your spook on this Halloween around Dallas-Fort Worth

With Halloween falling on a Friday this year, parties of all types take place that night. But you have many opportunities to celebrate the season in the days leading up to Halloween, because who wants to limit themselves to just one day of fun?

Even if none of the following events gets you excited, there are always haunted houses to give you a fright and that old standby Six Flags Fright Fest, which runs through November 2.

Multiple dates

Halloween at Globe Life Park
Tours of the Texas Rangers home ballpark are extra spooky over the next week, as Trick or Tours (October 25, 30, 31 and November 1) feature special activities, games, stories, trick-or-treating and more. To go even further, you can do the Flashlight Fright tour (October 30, 31 and November 1), during which guests use only flashlights to guide themselves around the park. Who knows what might jump out of the dark? Tours run at multiple times, and they are $10 for kids and $20 for adults.

Saturday, October 25

Dismember the Alamo
Halloween is the best time to watch horror movies, and the Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson screens four horror classics back-to-back-to-back-to-back. The movies remain a secret until just before showtime, but the event, which starts at noon, also has prizes for the best costumes and Alamo's usual bag of tricks. Tickets are $20 per person.

Oak Lawn Halloween Block Party
The annual celebration on Cedar Springs Road is one where you can really let loose, seeing as it takes place in Dallas' predominantly gay neighborhood. It features a Costume Promenade, with live commentary from Edna Jean Robinson, music, food, beer and more. The free party lasts from 7 pm to 2 am.

The Basement Gallery presents The Haunted Gallery
If you feel like getting a little artsy, Oak Cliff's Basement Gallery has you covered with this special Halloween-themed show. The free horror art exhibit, starting at 7 pm, allows visitors to view some of the best local artists and their creepy, horror and Day of the Dead art.

Halloween Bash at Victory Park
This party inside Victory Tavern at Victory Park promises a lot of action, including dancing, performances by Lollie Bombs Burlesque, a fire eater and more. Make sure to bring your A game in the costume department, as the winner gets a $300 gift card to NorthPark Center. Tickets are $10-$50 for this event that runs from 10 pm-2 am.

Haunted Loft Party
Only 400 people are allowed at this exclusive indoor/outdoor party at The Loft in the Gilley's complex, which features DJs blasting EDM, rap and more, as well as a costume contest with cash prizes. For $25, anyone 18 or over can attend this event, which runs from 10 pm-2 am.

Thursday, October 30

Meow-O-Ween Pub Prowl
Sometimes all it takes to have fun is to dress up like a cat and drink some beer. That's the premise of this event in the Camp Bowie District in Fort Worth, where participants are asked to dress in their best cat costumes while they do a pub "prowl" to four different stops, starting at 5 pm. Cost is $10 per person and includes a collectible pint glass for the first 150 people.

Crayon Club's Truck or Treat
For a more family-friendly affair that supports a good cause, you can check out this event at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, presented by its young professionals group, Crayon Club. Expect food trucks, live entertainment, lawn games, tours and face painting. The party, which kicks off at 7 pm, is $20 per person, with all proceeds benefiting the hospital.

Friday, October 31

Nightmare on Elm Street Halloween Extravaganza
Dallas' Young Professionals hold their annual Halloween event at the Tower Club on, yep, Elm Street. For $40, you can enjoy a costume contest ($250 goes to the winner), drinks, hors d'oeuvre, music from DJ Jose G and a special performance by Contemporary Ballet Dallas. The fun starts at 8 pm, and a portion of proceeds benefits CBD.

Day of the Dead at W Dallas Victory Hotel
Another high-flying party takes place at Altitude atop the W. Tickets range anywhere from $30 for general admission to $1,000 VIP packages (good for six people) for this event that features food, drinks, dancing to music spun by DJ Avenger and a costume contest. The winner nabs a two-night VIP suite package getaway. The party runs from 9 pm-2 am.

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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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