weekend event planner

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

Houstonopoly boasts a 10,000-square-foot game board with Houston-themed stops.

Courtesy of Houstonopoly

This weekend's forecast predict soggy days, but before the rain sets in, look for some events.

Expect a fun summer kickoff event with beach volleyball, water games, and more, steak night, Houston-themed Monopoly, a filthy-mouthed TV dad, and a juicy tomato festival.

Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, June 3

Balmoral Summer Kickoff Event
Balmoral has already opened up its lagoon to the public for this week-long, summer-kickoff event. Tickets include access to a free seating area, beach volleyball, lawn games, hammock, and putting green. Premium seating and water activities are available for an additional fee, including cabanas, beach umbrella set-ups, stand-up paddle boards, Hobie boards, kayaks and an inflatable trampoline. 11 am.

Thursday Steak Night at Axis Sports Bar
If you’re in the mood for some hearty cuts of meat this weekend, Axis Sports Bar has got you covered with its weekly steak night. We’re talking filet mignon, ribeye, salmon — all that good stuff. You can also get a steak and a beer for $15 or steak and lobster for $30. DJ Aggravated will be around to provide music for your certain-to-be-amazing dinner. No reservations are necessary. 6 pm.

Friday, June 4

Frost Bank presents Drive-Thru Spring Fling - Third Ward
Frost Bank will present a drive-through, socially distanced, Spring Fling event. There will be free breakfast tacos from Brunch Box and cookies from Ella Russell’s Crumbville, TX bakery. (We hope there will be some of those delicious, Amazin’ Craisin cookies around.) Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Houston/Galveston will provide games and a DJ will be on hand with music. 7:30 pm.

Houstonopoly Summer Pop-Up Exhibit
This fun, kid-friendly, summer pop-up will feature a 10,000-square-foot game board where visitors become the actual game pieces, traveling from space to space, with nods to the Bayou City at each stop along the way. Houstonopoly will feature more than 13 stops for photo ops, from Houston’s favorite music artists and events to iconic landmarks like the Historic Third Ward. Through Saturday, July 31. 10 am.

Improv Houston presents Bob Saget
Yes, America’s favorite, filthy-mouthed dad is coming to town, people! Bob Saget has starred in the successful TV shows Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos, but he’s also been an out-of-his-mind, Grammy-nominated standup comedian for over 30 years. From his cable specials to his scene-stealing cameos in Entourage and The Aristocrats, it’s always effective as Saget embraces his dark side. 7:30 and 9:45 pm (7 and 9:30 pm Saturday).

Saturday, June 5

Urban Harvest Farmers Market’s Annual Tomato Festival
Celebrate the peak of the tomato harvest with this annual fest. Tomato expert Dr. Bob Randall, will be on hand answering tomato questions. Guests can stop by the info booth for a specially curated tomato recipe from Tony’s chef Austin Waiter. They will be giving away olive oil from Tony's to the first 5 customers who come to the booth and sign up for the newsletter with their email address. There will also be live music from Dem Roots. 8 am.

Archway Gallery presents Joe Hale Haden: "Found Objects" opening reception
Joe Hale Haden grew up in Houston and has been making art ever since he can remember, obtaining degrees in both mechanical engineering and visual communication. He spent much of his adolescence creating drawings of life around him, as well as highly detailed blueprints for imagined homes. In this exhibition, Haden juxtaposes organic and non-organic shapes, marrying their superficial differences. Through Wednesday, July 7. 10 am.

ElectroBounce - 6 Year Anniversary of Soul Control
After a year-plus-long hiatus, the “movement-based healing” known as ElectroBounce is officially back in action this weekend, over at Shrine of the Black Madonna. This party also serves as this six-year anniversary of Soul Control, aka the ruckus-bringing duo of DJ Anarchy and DJ Elevated. It’s going to be an eclectic dance party, complete with an open bar. 10 pm.

Sunday, June 6

Children At Risk presents Big Brunch: "Bright Futures"
At this event, guests will enjoy a brunch with fried chicken, champagne & other delicacies, wine tasting games and more, all to raise support for children. The gathering will also honor some special heroes who have made extraordinary efforts throughout their careers to serve children. Special honorees include Dr. David Callender, president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System, Stephen Williams, director of the Houston Health Department and others. Noon.

Sunday Fund Daze Pop-up Volume 2
It’s volume two for the Sunday Fund Daze Pop-Up shop, a collabo between All Blaq Everythang and Cassy’s Kitchen. They will be rounding up local, Black-owned businesses to showcase their products and services and spotlight the incredible brands that some of their favorite entrepreneurs have built. There will be vendors, food (from Cassy’s, of course), a live DJ and a cash bar. Noon.

event-planner

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.

movies film