Weekend Event Planner

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

This weekend will bring a little bit of almost every conceivable entertainment option to the Dallas area. Among your choices will be a new local theater production, a military-themed film festival, two big-name comedians, big band jazz performed by an orchestra, a music and beer festival, a live version of a hugely popular podcast, and the final days of a major art exhibit.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time Thursday through Monday. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, November 9

Undermain Theatre presents John
In John, it's the week after Thanksgiving in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where a young couple are welcomed to an eerie bed and breakfast by an eccentric inn keeper. The play is a haunting and haunted meditation by Annie Baker, the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Flick. The production will run at Undermain Theatre through December 3.

Sons of the Flag presents Stars & Stripes Film Festival
Timed to coincide with Veterans Day weekend, the Stars & Stripes Film Festival will feature five military-themed and critically acclaimed films that highlight the bravery of men and women in uniform. Among the screenings will be 13 Hours, Green Berets, The Hunt for Red October, The Patriot, and The Dirty Dozen. All screenings, most of which are free, will take place at Highland Park Village Theatre.

Chris Rock: Total Blackout
Despite having been in the business for 30 years, Chris Rock is still one of the strongest comedic voices working today. The Grammy and Emmy Award-winning comedian is revered by fans and fellow comics alike for his insightful and daring sense of humor. Rock will bring his all-new Total Blackout tour, his first in over nine years, to the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory for one night only.

Friday, November 10

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Pops Series: Harlem Renaissance
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will present Harlem Renaissance. The Cotton Club, Harlem’s legendary jazz nightclub, comes alive again with an evening of great jazz, soulful tapping, and showmanship. The concert, being performed three times at the Meyerson Symphony Center through Sunday, will feature trumpeter/singer Byron Stripling, singer Miche Braden, tap dancer Red Louis Levy, and drummer Robert Breithaupt.

Saturday, November 11

Index Fest
Formerly known as Untapped Festival, Index Fest will celebrate beer, music, food, and arts at Fair Park. The same focus on craft beer and music will remain, but Index Fest now tries to incorporate high-quality food and arts. Performers will include Big Boi, J Roddy Walston & The Business, Cherub, Langhorne Slim & The Law, Tone Loc, and Michael Lee and the Wartime Limousine.

Trevor Noah in concert
Like other late night talk show hosts, Trevor Noah has made hay since Donald Trump was elected president. The Daily Show's inherent political bent has allowed him to go even further than other hosts, making his takeover for Jon Stewart all the more natural. Noah will take a break from his duties on Comedy Central to get back to his roots as a stand-up comic at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory.

My Favorite Murder Live
Diving deep into the details of murders committed by infamous serial killers wouldn't normally be entertaining, but in the hands of Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, it's that and much more. The two have turned their podcast, My Favorite Murder, into one of the most popular on the Internet thanks to their unique ability to talk about horrific things in a light yet respectful way. They'll record three live shows — two on Saturday and one on Sunday — at Majestic Theatre.

Sunday, November 12

Dallas Museum of Art presents "Shaken, Stirred, Styled: The Art of the Cocktail" closing day
Sunday is the final day to take in this cocktail-centric exhibit. Featuring nearly 50 works predominantly from the DMA’s extensive design holdings, "Shaken, Stirred, Styled: The Art of the Cocktail" explores the culture of cocktails and the wares in which they were prepared and served. The exhibition follows the development of the modern cocktail from the late 19th century to the present day, tracing the stylistic reflections of the rituals of the cocktail’s concoction, presentation, and consumption through metalware, glassware, and ceramics.

Chris Rock will perform at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory on November 9.

Chris Rock/Facebook

Chris Rock will perform at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory on November 9.

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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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