Weekend Event Planner

Festivals of a different stripe top best weekend events in Dallas

Getting out and about in Dallas this weekend all depends on the flexibility of your schedule. Several events starting Thursday allow you to pick and choose what day is best for you to attend, while the ones taking place Friday through Sunday require a commitment for a one-time-only experience.

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, November 12

2015 Stars & Stripes Film Festival
Timed for just after Veterans Day, this film festival is special in that it shows war-based movies and brings in veterans of those wars to speak about their experiences. Among the films being shown during the four-day fest, taking place at Angelika Film Center Dallas, will be Zero Dark Thirty, Last Days in Vietnam, The Windtalkers, and In Defense of Freedom: The Korean War.

2015 Elm Street Music & Tattoo Festival
Unlike last year's edition, which was spread over multiple venues, the 2015 Elm Street Music & Tattoo Festival will be centrally located at the Bomb Factory. Taking place every night through Sunday, it will feature 40 tattooers doing what they do best and more than 30 bands, including The Reverend Horton Heat, Leftover Crack, Agnostic Front, The Bronx, Mariachi El Bronx, and The Briefs.

Peter Pan 360
Fly to Neverland in a whole new way with this innovative live stage production of Peter Pan in the Threesixty Theatre, a state-of-the-art, 100-foot high, climate-controlled tent that's been erected in the Dallas Arts District. The production combines intimate theater-in-the-round, overhead surround CGI projection, and actors in flying sequences 40 feet in the air for a unique experience. It will run through December 6.

Friday, November 13

An Evening with Giada De Laurentiis
Giada De Laurentiis is as ubiquitous a food celebrity as there is these days, thanks to her multiple TV shows, eponymous online magazine, and seven — count 'em, seven — books. De Laurentiis comes to the Majestic Theatre to talk about her latest cookbook, Happy Cooking, and take questions from the audience.

Chance the Rapper in concert
If you don't know Chance the Rapper yet, chances are you soon will. Although he has yet to release his own full album, he's put out several acclaimed EPs in recent years and was heavily involved in Surf, the debut album from The Social Experiment. He's also doing a secret project with late night host Stephen Colbert, which intrigues on multiple levels. He'll perform at South Side Ballroom alongside D.R.A.M., Towkio, and Metro Boomin.

Saturday, November 14

Art Con 11
The annual Art Con is way to indulge in the local arts scene while also actively helping it out. More than 150 local artists have been challenged to stretch their talents to create a piece of collectible art within 24 hours on a piece of signature Art Con 18 x 18 board. Those works will be auctioned off during the evening, with proceeds going to support Make Art with Purpose.

Leon Bridges in concert with Wesley Geiger & The Texas Gentlemen
Another up-and-coming musician with whom you should be acquainted is Leon Bridges, a Fort Worth native who's hit the big time in a matter of months. A mere five months ago, Bridges was playing small local joints like the Scat Jazz Lounge; now he's headlining at the Majestic Theatre thanks to his breakout debut album, Coming Home. He'll be joined by Wesley Geiger & The Texas Gentlemen.

Eisemann Center presents An Evening with Molly Ringwald
The name Molly Ringwald brings up a lot of images, mostly from her string of hit movies in the 1980s (one of which, The Breakfast Club, will be screened at the Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson with her in attendance on Friday). But this evening at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts will be a concert showcasing Ringwald's skills as a jazz vocalist, something she's pursued in earnest since 2013.

Sunday, November 15

Evanescence in concert
The band Evanescence rose to fame in the early 2000s thanks to songs like "Bring Me to Life" and "My Immortal." Unlike other bands who have jettisoned their lead singers and continued onward, vocalist Amy Lee is all that remains from the original lineup. The mostly new band will perform at South Side Ballroom as part of their first tour in three years.

Zero Dark Thirty will be among the films shown at the 2015 Stars & Stripes Film Festival, playing through November 15 at Angelika Film Center Dallas.

Zero Dark Thirty/Facebook

Zero Dark Thirty will be among the films shown at the 2015 Stars & Stripes Film Festival, playing through November 15 at Angelika Film Center Dallas.

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Movie Review

Dark comedy Friendship covers male bonding with copious cringing

Photo courtesy of A24

Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship.

Comedian Tim Robinson has gained a cult following thanks to series like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, in which his brand of cringe comedy is on full display. The former Saturday Night Live writer/performer has had a few small movie roles over the years, but he’s now getting his first starring role in the off-kilter Friendship.

Robinson plays Craig, a mild-mannered suburbanite with a wife, Tami (Kate Mara) and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig has a boring life that involves little more than going to his middle manager job while wearing the same clothes day after day, anticipating the next Marvel movie, and helping Tami out with her at-home floral business.

He gets a jolt of energy when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood. The two men seem to hit it off, with Austin - a weatherman at a local TV channel - even taking Craig on a couple of impromptu adventures. But when Craig commits a couple of faux pas at a group gathering at Austin’s house, their bond starts to fracture.

Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, it’s clear that Robinson had a big influence on the style of comedy it features. There are no big set pieces with a slew of jokes coming one after another. Instead, the film forces the audience to try to vibe with the very particular type of wavelength it’s giving off, one that could almost be called anti-comedy for the way the laughs come out of left field.

The 100-minute film is full of random comedic moments, like Steven kissing Tami on the lips, Craig being obsessed with his plain brown clothes, a group sing-along, and more. More often than not, it’s the way Craig reacts to both normal and abnormal situations that gets the laughs. The character is needy and oblivious, two traits that combine to make many of his actions cringeworthy.

Perhaps most importantly for this type of movie, there are many things in the story that go unexplained or don’t make sense. Seemingly crucial elements are brought up only to fade away just as quickly, while other parts that appeared to be throwaway sections get callbacks later in the film. DeYoung and Robinson are determined to keep the audience on their toes the entire time, never knowing what to expect next.

Robinson has the perfect face for a story like this, one that’s bland enough to blend into the background but memorable enough to sell the jokes. His demeanor is also excellent, never becoming too expressive, even when he gets angry. With long hair, a mustache, and a certain swagger, Rudd is a great complement to Robinson. Only in a film like this would an everyman like Rudd be considered the suave and cool one.

There will be some that will see Friendship and come away wondering what the hell they just watched. But anyone who goes in knowing that they’re about to witness a comedy that challenges their sensibilities will likely have a great time.

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Friendship is now playing in select theaters.

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