Weekend event planner

Here are the top 11 things to do in Houston this weekend

Looking for something to do this weekend? CultureMap has got you covered. Here’s to getting the most out of your free time with 11 can’t-miss events, from a home show to a culinary tour. For more options, check out the full CultureMap Events Calendar.

Art talk
Thursday, March 30: Prospect.4, the fourth iteration of recurring three-year contemporary art event Prospect New Orleans, is set to run in the Big Easy November 11 through February 2018. Get the scoop on the art triennial as Prospect.4 artistic director Trevor Schoonmaker, chief curator at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, sits down for a conversation with Houston’s Rick Lowe, founder of Project Row Houses, at MATCH Rehearsal Room (6:30 pm; tickets: free). 3400 Main St.; 713-223-8346

Lebanese affair
Friday, March 31-Sunday, April 2: The third annual Houston Lebanese Festival returns for fun-filled three days of cultural exhibits, lively entertainment and delicious food from falafel to baba ghanoush (Friday at 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday 11 am; tickets: $10 per adult and $5 per child ages 2-12). 600 Louisiana St.; 832-991-8876

Funny French films
Friday, March 31-Sunday, April 2: In the seventh annual edition of Five Funny French Films, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, showcases comedies that have entertained audiences in France but haven't been show widely in the United States. (Friday at 7 pm and 9 pm, Saturday at 7 pm and 9:15 pm, Sunday at 5 pm; tickets $7-$9 per person). Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Brown Auditorium, 1001 Bissonnet St.; 713-639-7300

Double the fun
Friday, March 31-Saturday, April 1: River Oaks Chamber Orchestra closes out its season 12 concert series with a two-day affair, called Double Trouble, featuring the world premiere of the orchestra’s newest commission, ROCOmoji, a concerto grosso for double reeds written by composer Alexander Miller, Saverio Mercadante's Concerto for Flute in E-minor, Gustav Holst's Green Brook Suite, and Arnold Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht (Friday at 7:30 pm and Saturday at 5 pm; tickets: $15-$35 per person). Friday: The Woodlands United Methodist Church, 2200 Lake Woodlands Dr.; Saturday: Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks Blvd.

Home sweet home
Saturday, April 1-Sunday, April 2: The 36th Annual Houston Home Show provides experts on everything for home, from windows and doors to outdoor kitchens. You can also expect cooking demos and food samples, and a kid zone (Saturday: 10 am-7 pm; Sunday: 11 am-5 pm; tickets: $9.95 per person). 1001 Avenida de las Americas; 713-853-8000

Urban art
Saturday, April 1: Heartmade Art Market, with over 40 local artists and artisans, takes over downtown’s Main Street Square (11 am-6 pm; tickets: free entry). Shop for original artwork, jewelry, paper products, home goods, and more while you enjoy music by DJ Ill-Set, a kid zone with arts and crafts, food truck fare, and complimentary hand-spun cotton candy. 1100 Main St.; 713-650-3022

Street fest
Saturday, April 1-Sunday, April 2: The two-day Houston Whatever Fest (11:30 am; tickets: $55–$450 per person) presents an eclectic lineup of 80 acts on five stages in east downtown. The festival boasts live music (think AWOLnation, Cold War Kids, and tribute act, Kiss Alike), comedy (from T.J. Miller to Grace Thomas), and works from over 80 artists. 813 St. Emanuel St.; 713-225-5483

Outdoor dining
Saturday, April 1: Dine al fresco at the Spring Wine Event, which takes place on the patio between the Energy Corridor's Le Mistral restaurant and Rouge Wine Bar (1-4 pm; tickets: $15 per adult; $7 per child). Your ticket gets you two glasses of wine (Domaine de Souviou Rose Bandol and Pierre Bovis Chateauneuf du Pape), a traditional French chicken provencal entree (chicken cooked in a sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil), wine tips from Le Mistral’s sommelier, Sylvain Denis, and entertainment by jazz group, The Chris Bitten Project. 1400 Eldridge Pkwy.

Panic attack
Saturday, April 1: Las Vegas pop/rock band Panic at the Disco heads to downtown’s Toyota Center (7 pm; tickets: $57-$428 per person) as part of the group’s Death Of A Bachelor Tour, named for their gold-certified studio album with the same moniker. Indie pop bands MisterWives and Saint Motel will also perform. Toyota Center, 1510 Polk; 866-446-8849.

Take a tour
Sunday, April 2: Join chef and restaurateur Lee Ellis of Cherry Pie Hospitality restaurant group (State Fare, Pi Pizza, Lee’s Fried Chicken & Donuts, Petite Sweets), along with his business partner Jim Mills, for tastings at some of the duo’s favorite Mexican and Asian eateries (12-4 pm; tickets: $190 per person). Catch a ride on a Houston Wave shuttle in the parking lot of Central Market, where exact restaurant locations, kept secret until event time, will be revealed. Central Market, 3815 Westheimer Rd.

Anniversary special
Sunday, April 2: Midtown bar and grill Wooster’s Garden celebrates two years of business with $3 fireball shots, snaps by Photobooth and performances by alternative/indie bands Wild Moccasins and Los Skarnales (4-8 pm; tickets: free entry). Sip and nosh on drinks and bites from the hotspot’s regularly priced menu. Luna Y Sol Mexican grill and The Arepa Grill will also serve up fare. 3315 Milam St.; 713-520-0015

Heartmade Art Market, with over 40 local artists and artisans, will take over downtown’s Main Street Square.

Houston, weekend event planner, march 2017, Heartmade Art Market

Courtesy photo

Heartmade Art Market, with over 40 local artists and artisans, will take over downtown’s Main Street Square.

event-planner

Movie Review

George Clooney shines in Jay Kelly, a sharp and heartfelt look at fame

Photo by Peter Mountain/Netflix

George Clooney in Jay Kelly.

The life of a celebrity is paradoxical in that your life is lived in the public eye, yet who you really are is almost unknowable. Movie history is littered with films that try to dig into the private lives of real and fictional actors, with varying results. The latest film to try to unearth what it means to be famous is Jay Kelly.

In a perfect bit of casting, George Clooney stars in the title role as an actor who’s still world famous even if he’s edging toward the downside of his career. His coterie of helpers, including manager Ron (Adam Sandler) and publicist Liz (Laura Dern), make sure he is taken care of at every turn, often anticipating his needs before he realizes it.

A run-in with an old friend, Timothy (Billy Crudup), sends Jay spiraling, questioning not just the meaning of his 35-plus year career, but also his relationships with his two daughters, Jessica (Riley Keough) and Daisy (Grace Edwards). Jay’s attempt to manage the crisis pits his identity as a celebrity and as a father and friend against each other.

Written and directed by Noah Baumbach, and co-written by Emily Mortimer (who has a small role), the film has to walk the tightrope of making the audience like Jay even as he does and says things that might make him unlikable. There’s a very thin line between the character of Jay Kelly and the real life George Clooney; each is seemingly infinitely charming when dealing with the public, but they lead very different private lives.

Baumbach takes a light approach to the story, occasionally dipping into more serious territory but never going too deep. For some, this may seem like a copout, as if he’s merely pretending to want to explore what celebrity truly is. But as you see Jay navigate his way between his work, his family, and being out among the public, little details emerge that make him increasingly complex.

A lot of the film’s pleasure comes from the strong actors cast in relatively minor roles. There are not enough words to express what it means to have actors like Jim Broadbent as Jay’s mentor, or Greta Gerwig as Ron’s wife, or Stacy Keach as Jay’s father, or Patrick Wilson as a fellow longtime actor. Each of them and more lend an instant air of excellence to the film that elevates the story beyond its simple premise.

Clooney may be playing a version of himself, but as the film notes on multiple occasions, playing yourself is more difficult than it seems. He is deserving of an Oscar nomination, as is Sandler, who doesn’t give off even a whiff of insincerity as a man who has given perhaps a bit too much of himself in aid of another man’s career.

Jay Kelly is not a world-changing film, and some may accuse it of being another navel-gazing Hollywood story. But the forcefulness of Clooney’s performance, the long line of strong supporting actors, and the subtly effective storytelling by Baumbach and Mortimer (making her feature screenwriting debut) help it become much more than might be expected.

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Jay Kelly is now playing in select theaters. It debuts on Netflix on December 5.

movies film