weekend event planner

Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

Dive into Hotel Derek's Float & Flick party.

Hotel Derek/Facebook

The warmer temps are here, which means locals flock to poolside shindigs or chill, indoor events. This week features a splashy pool/movie bash, a pet-themed soiree, and a hip art market.

Here, then, are some fun events to heat up your weekend.

Thursday, May 30

Fierce & Fabulous at The Bellemore
Houston PetSet, Sotheby’s, and Al Ross Luxury Homes, along with the adoptable pets from ADORE Houston, will host this event at the prestigious Bellemore. Donation proceeds will benefit PetSet, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to ending the suffering and homelessness of companion animals in the Greater Houston area. Guests can look forward to complimentary appetizers, champagne, and a luxury Chopard showcase. 5-8 pm.

Float & Flick Summer Movie Series at Hotel Derek
Hotel Derek is once again starting up this monthly series, where films will be screened at the SPLASH pool for lounging moviegoers. The first movie up is the classic blockbuster Jaws, with Footloose, Apollo 13, and Mean Girls coming up in next few months. Tickets include complimentary gourmet popcorn, one complimentary signature drink, complimentary self-parking, and access to SPLASH starting at 7:30 pm for an after-work dip in the pool. 8:15 pm.

Friday, May 31

Keep Houston Rolling at Saint Arnold Brewing Co.
This event has bike-share program Houston BCycle throwing its first-ever fundraiser over at Saint Arnold's beer garden. This is a great opportunity to meet other BCycle riders and bask in the glory of car-free transit. There will also be free drink coupons for those who donate, BCycle T-shirts and hats for sale, Texas GOLD Sprint'em stationary cycling races, and a raffle. 5-11 pm.

Near Dark and Ginger Snaps at Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra
This Graveyard Shift double feature shines a light on a pair of down-and-dirty, horror flicks that have both a cult following and critical acclaim. First off, we have a grungy, vampire Western from future Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow, with Lance Henriksen and the late Bill Paxton as part of a family of nomadic bloodsuckers. Next up is a made-in-Canada werewolf flick where the lives of two teenage sisters get even more complicated once one of them gets attacked by a wild creature. 9 pm.

Saturday, June 1

Heartmade Art Market at Main Street Square
This semi-annual, downtown art market will return to Main Street Square this weekend. Conceived and created by Tracy Manford Carlson of Tracy Carlson Photography and Sonja Fulbright of Crush Design Co., this fest will feature more than 75 local and regional artists selling wares ranging from apparel and jewelry to home goods and art, as well as music, food truck fare, a beer and wine garden, free cotton candy from Lush Puff, and more. 10 am to 5 pm.

Silent Disco Vibe at CityPlace
Well, this dance party sounds intriguing as hell. This event will have people wearing wireless, LED headphones with three distinct channels of music, including two live DJs, giving the audience the power to decide who and what to listen to during the course of the evening. Depending on the selection, the headphones will change colors, adding an element of social experiment to the scene. Headphone rentals are just $5 each. 7:30-10:30 pm.

Sunday, June 2

Sunday Supper at Kau Ba Saigon Restaurant & Bar
"If I won't eat it, I won't serve it" is the mantra of Nikki Tran, a chef who has been featured on such Netflix food shows as Ugly Delicious and Street Food and also runs the Kau Ba Saigon eatery in Montrose. Starting this weekend, Tran is launching a monthly dining series known as Sunday Supper. The menu will change monthly, but it will always feature some of Tran’s favorite dishes, nostalgic flavors and recipes from her own family. 5 pm.

Hannah Gadsby: Douglas at Jones Hall
Last year, Australian comic Hannah Gadsby rattled the international comedy world with her Netflix special Nanette. It's basically a trojan horse of a stand-up special, with Gadsby doing a half-hour of bone-dry, observational humor before sliding into a dead-serious, brutally honest monologue on her life as a lesbian. Even though she said she was dipping out comedy after Nanette, she returns with the new show Douglas, where she talks about everything she went through after Nanette. 7:30 pm.

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Movie Review

Michelle Pfeiffer visits Houston in new Christmas movie 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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