RodeoHouston 2018

Thomas Rhett steals hearts with his satin hooks at RodeoHouston

Rhett wowed the crowd with upbeat country and pop-infused tunes.

Photo by RodeoHouston

Thomas Rhett is one of those singers who is about as country as Church’s chicken — Southern, certainly, but going for mass appeal so hard that any regional flavor is incidental, really.

In other words, his music is delicious. A little fattening, maybe. His songs contain enough details to be convincing and enough clichés to be popular.

He’s very popular. Rhett will be 28 at the end of the month, and his second straight RodeoHouston appearance March 7 came just in the nick of time. His latest single, “Marry Me,” happens to be the No. 1 country song in the nation this week. It’s also his tenth No. 1 country song just three albums into his career.

So yes, Rhett would be easy to hate if he weren’t so dang likable.

He’s easy on the eyes, too. He looks like he sounds: scruffy but wholesome. Based on his stagewear, black satin jackets and white T-shirts, Rhett and his band would not be out of place in the next Pitch Perfect sequel.

Looks aside, though, these guys also delivered the big sound a successful rodeo appearance demands. (March 7's announced attendance: 60,204.) It was there in opener “T-Shirt,” an upbeat throwback to '90s pop-rock role models Matchbox 20 and Third Eye Blind; or the sorry-not-sorry anthem “Crash and Burn,” which — here I’m dating myself and I don’t care — sounded like a killer Kenny Loggins tune pushed 40 years into the future.

Rhett has been vocal about his admiration of Bruno Mars, and it shows. It’s a shame he didn’t break out his “24K Magic” cover, but it wasn’t missed thanks to the pulsating disco-pop of “Craving You,” which didn’t suffer much for the lack of duet partner Maren Morris. “Vacation,” meanwhile, borrowed a riff from the Beastie Boys or Red Hot Chili Peppers to give off that unmistakable whiff of Spring Break. Coconut water and Coppertone…mmmmm.

But it could have easily gone the other way. Rhett is hardly immune to singing about back roads and such, but he gets away with it because he’s affable and relatable enough to make the audience believe he’s singing about real stuff: a cute girl in a Guns N’ Roses T-shirt; becoming a dad; living it up at a Motel 6 or, in “Grave,” the Good Lord finally calling you home. (What a great title.) The twist in “Marry Me” — a wedding song full of magnolias, missed opportunities and a trusty hip flask — is worthy of a Hugh Grant movie.

Besides, Rhett is perfectly aware of who is singing all those big choruses back to him. The island-pop of “Make Me Wanna” brought the night’s first swoon. “Star of the Show” reads like a love note with all the I’s dotted with hearts (or in modern terms, an emoji-packed Instagram caption). Standing in the middle of an enormous stadium, Rhett managed to collapse all that space to the point he might as well have been sitting on the edge of a bed.

Another one that didn’t need much embellishment was “Die a Happy Man,” Rhett’s biggest hit to date (the ultimate fate of “Marry Me” notwithstanding), his final song, and a damn fine song to boot. Its message is as simple as its melody: it’s the little things that matter most — the sight of your wife in a little black dress, dancing with her by a fireplace — because that’s what you hold onto when the initial moment is long gone.

Songwriters and performers who understand that, and apply it to their craft, can go far indeed. Rhett seems to get it. So did the two ladies dancing behind me, right there in the middle of the concourse, in a way that the people who started streaming up the stairs in order to beat the traffic probably didn’t.

Thomas Rhett set list

T-Shirt
Make Me Wanna
Life Changes
Grave
Craving You
Star of the Show
Sixteen
Get Me Some of That
Crash and Burn
Vacation
Marry Me
Unforgettable
Die a Happy Man

Rhett wowed the crowd with upbeat country and pop-infused tunes.

Photo by RodeoHouston

Rhett wowed the crowd with upbeat country and pop-infused tunes.

concerts rodeo

Movie Review

An all-star cast delivers clever laughs in new comedy The Invite

Photo courtesy of A24

Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in The Invite.

Once upon a time, well before scandal embroiled him, Woody Allen made great comedies aimed at adults. That type of film — which is different from the raunchy, R-rated comedies of the 21st century — has fallen out of favor in Hollywood, but as the new film The Invite proves, when done well it can be as funny as anything else out there.

Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) are an unhappily married couple living in San Francisco. As we meet them, Joe has arrived home to Angela preparing for a visit from their upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), who have moved in relatively recently. Their impending arrival starts a new round of arguing between Joe and Angela, something they can barely contain once the other couple comes to their door.

What proceeds is a getting-to-know-you process that is mostly awkward as Joe and Angela continue sniping at each other while Hawk and Piña put in their two cents in a much calmer manner. A sticking point between the two couples — the loud sex Hawk and Piña have on an almost nightly basis — turns the film on its head with an unexpected invitation.

Directed by Wilde and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film is a fast-paced chamber piece that takes place almost entirely in Joe and Angela’s apartment. Wilde, the writers, and the actors speed the story along not with action but through almost non-stop dialogue that often has the characters overlapping each other’s lines. The rapidity of the speech fuels the humor of the situation and establishes the differing personalities of each person.

Sex is very much top of mind for each of the characters for most of the film, but the filmmakers approach the topic in such a way that it never feels salacious. Each of the characters is a rational adult who can talk about sex in a mature manner while also acknowledging their unique feelings on the matter. And it’s the discoveries each of them makes along the way that brings about the most comedy.

But, like any comedy for adults, the film also has a dramatic tilt to it, and Wilde edges the story back-and-forth between the two tones extremely well. Joe and Angela fighting is played for laughs at times, but the sadness of their relationship comes through loud and clear. Hawk and Piña are much more intimate with each other, but the funniness of their openness is juxtaposed with a depth that arises through their conversations.

In the 2020s, Rogen has managed to make the transition from goofy stoner to stoner with real acting chops. In a stacked cast, he is the one who sells every moment the best. That’s not to say that Wilde, Norton, and Cruz don’t measure up, though; each of them inhabits their respective roles magnificently. The four actors play off each other as if they had been working together for years.

While The Invite will likely play better to those who have experience with long term relationships, its insights — and occasional bawdiness — make it a comedy that can be appreciated universally. With four actors at the top of their games and a razor-sharp script made even better by some well-done improv, it proves that you don’t need to go low to get great laughs.

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The Invite is now playing in theaters.

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