Weekend events planner

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

You’ve been working hard all week, and now that the weekend is near, it’s time to let loose. From some amazing concerts to a beer tasting, an art tour, a free movie, and more... here are the top 10 things to do in Houston this weekend.

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

Phone home
Thursday, June 8
Break out your shoulder pads and hair scrunchies, plus your blankets and lawn chairs, and make your way to The Square at Memorial City for a free showing of 1982 hit film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. PS The popcorn is also free. (7 pm; tickets: free)
303 Memorial City; 713-464-8640

Step right up
Friday, June 9-Sunday, June 11
Society for the Performing Arts presents family-friendly show, Circus 1903, at Jones Hall. Puppets and special effects transport you to the golden age of the circus. (Various times; tickets: $33-$93 per person)
615 Louisiana St.; 713-227-4772

Art pop-up
Friday, June 9
They had us at free pancakes, but then they added works by more than 100 emerging local artists, live body painting, live art battles, and beer, and we’re all in for the Pancakes and Booze Art Show at Warehouse Live. (8 pm; tickets: $7-$13 per person)
813 St. Emanuel St.; 310-555-5555

Shop away
Saturday, June 10-Sunday, June 11
Shop ‘til you drop at the Pop Shop Houston Summer Festival featuring handmade and vintage fashions, art exhibitions, craft workshops, live music, and more, all at Silver Street Studios. (Various times; tickets: $8 per person)
2000 Edwards St.

Art tour
Saturday, June 10
Take a guided stroll of the buildings on the Sawyer Yards Creative Campus, located in Houston’s historic First Ward, via the Winter Street Studio Tour with Fresh Arts event. Spend the afternoon wandering through five re-purposed warehouses, home to more than 300 artists in residence, filled with unique items including paintings, sculptures, jewelry, photography, and textiles. (3-4 pm; tickets: free when you register here)
2101 Winter St.

Book signing
Saturday, June 10
Actor and comedian Kevin Hart heads to Katy Mills Mall for a book signing session at retailer Books-A-Million. His inspirational memoir, I Can’t Make This Up, hits shelves June 13. Hart's film credits include the Scary Movie franchise, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Death at a Funeral, and Little Fockers. (2 pm; tickets: $29.22 per person)
5000 Katy Mills Cir., Katy; 281-644-2665

Six degrees
Saturday, June 10
Actor Kevin Bacon and his film-scoring brother Michael Bacon, who together make up The Bacon Brothers rock band, hit the stage at Heights Theater. The duo have produced seven albums between 1997 and 2014, including Forosoco (1997), New Year’s Day (2009), and 36 Cents (2014), with tunes spanning rock, soul, folk, and Americana. (8:30 pm; tickets: $34-$52 per person)
339 W. 19th St.; 214-272-8346

Cheers
Sunday, June 11
The Special Rare Cellar Tasting event at Saint Arnold Brewing Company boasts samples of one-of-a-kind and aged brews. (2-4:30 pm; tickets: $60 per person)
2000 Lyons Ave.; 713-686-9494

Enter Sandman
Sunday, June 11
In support of their tenth studio album Hardwired... To Self-Destruct, released in November 2016, heavy metal rockers Metallica make a stop at NRG Stadium as part of their The WorldWired Tour. This marks the band’s first worldwide tour since the World Magnetic Tour in 2008–2010. (6 pm; tickets: $71.50-$342.90 per person)
8400 Kirby Dr.; 713-629-3700

Honey of a Film Series
Sunday, June 11
Houston film buff Maggie Schutza is launching a free outdoor summer movie series Sunday night with a showing of the 1989 Hal Hartley film The Unbelievable Truth. It will be shown in the driveway of a house near the Menil Collection, with tailgate-style chairs and light refreshments. The under-the-stars event, called the Houston Honey Summer Film Series, continues on Sunday nights through August 13. (8 pm; tickets: free)
1502 Sul Ross St.

Metallica makes a stop at NRG Stadium as part of The WorldWired Tour.

Photo by Herring Herring

Metallica makes a stop at NRG Stadium as part of The WorldWired Tour.

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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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