Weekend event planner

Here are the top 10 things to do in Houston this weekend

It’s never too early to start planning for the weekend. We’ve rounded up some of the best entertainment, arts and food events in town, including festivals, concerts and pop-up dinners. Read on for our guide on what to do this weekend in Houston.

For more options, check out the full CultureMap Events Calendar.

Well-wishes
Thursday, March 23: Owner of music management and promotions company, The Convoy Group, Mark C. Austin celebrates turning 40 with a blowout birthday-bash-slash-charity-concert at The Heights Theater (6 pm-11:30 pm; tickets: $14-$59 per person). Proceeds from the event, which boasts an entertainment lineup of mega-talent from The Tontons to Say Girl Say, benefit nonprofit Donate Life Texas, which supports organ donation.
339 W. 19th St.; 214-272-8346

Rockin' rodeo
Thursday, March 23: RodeoHouston welcomes Blink-182 to NRG Stadium (6:45 pm; tickets: $18-$300 per person). The band rose to fame in the '90s with witty punk-rock tunes like "She’s Out of Her Mind,” "All the Small Things,” "What’s My Age Again?, “Bored to Death,” and “I Miss You.”
NRG Stadium, 8400 Kirby Dr.; 832-667-1400

Three-day art fest
Friday, March 24-Sunday, March 26: Bayou City Art Festival at Memorial Park offers three days of fun (10 am-6 pm; tickets: $12-$15 per person; $5 per child ages 6-12). Shop works from over 300 global artists including headliner Amanda Bennett, a mixed media artist from New Orleans. The festival, which benefits several local nonprofits including Fresh Arts, Lawndale Art Center, and The Arc of Greater Houston, also boasts food truck fare (think Cousins Maine Lobster and The Burger Joint), activities for the kids, and more.
6501 Memorial Dr.; 713-521-0133

Country star
Friday, March 24: Country singer-songwriter Dierks Bentley performs at RodeoHouston (6:45 pm; tickets: $18-$300 per person). Named the Academy of Country Music’s Best New Artist in 2005 and inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008, Bentley’s hit songs include “Drunk on a Plane,” “Black,” “I Hold On,” “Different for Girls,” and “Somewhere on a Beach.”
NRG Stadium, 8400 Kirby Dr.; 832-667-1400

Art galore— and more
Saturday, March 25: From painters of all mediums and sewistas to vintage clothing vendors and candle makers, there’s something for everyone at the Art-Is-An Outdoor Market at the Energy Corridor’s Republic Square (11 am-6 pm; free to enter). What’s more, you can also expect a kid’s craft area, plus eats, beer and wine from Foodies Gourmet, Rouge Wine Bar and Le Mistral.
Republic Square, 13501 Katy Fwy; 713-777-7368

Paisley power
Saturday, March 25: Brad Paisley makes his eleventh appearance at RodeoHouston (3:45 pm; tickets: $16 per person, standing room only). Throughout his career, Paisley has had a number of hit songs including “Today,” “Without a Fight,” “She’s Everything,” “Then,” “Whiskey Lullaby,” “Alcohol,” and “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song).”
NRG Stadium, 8400 Kirby Dr.; 832-667-1400

Go fly a kite
Sunday, March 26: Bring your own kite or buy one there and cut loose at the fourth annual Hermann Park Conservancy Kite Festival at Miller Hill/ Jones Reflection Pool near Miller Outdoor Theatre (10 am-5 pm; tickets: free). Kite making lessons, face painting, and food trucks are also part of the program.
6100 Fannin St.; 713-524-5876

More rodeo fun
Sunday, March 26: We can’t get enough of RodeoHouston or the Zac Brown Band, scheduled to perform onstage at NRG Stadium (3:45 pm; tickets: $16 per person, standing room only) in the last performance in this season's lineup. Hit singles from the Grammy Award-winning country stars include “Chicken Fried,” “Colder Weather,” “Toes,” “Loving You Easy,” “Whatever It Is,” and “Homegrown.”
NRG Stadium, 8400 Kirby Dr.; 832-667-1400

Sunday funday
Sunday, March 26: It’s showtime at Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge (6 pm-2 am). The downtown cocktail bar celebrates four years of business with drink specials inspired by cult classic TV show, Twin Peaks.
308 Main St.; 718-387-6962

Pop-up supper
Sunday, March 26: CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Rising Star Chef of the Year finalist Kenten Marin launches his BIFI (by industry for industry) pop-up series this Sunday at Southern Goods restaurant (5:45 pm-8:30 pm). For only $20, score five plates of delectable Southern fare. Hurry and get your tickets now, before they sell out.
632 W 19th St.; 346-980-8152

Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge celebrates four years of business with drink specials.

Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge interior with people

Photo by © Julie Soefer/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge celebrates four years of business with drink specials.

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Movie Review

Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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