Weekend Event Planner

Houston Beer Fest, Habsburg masterpieces and rap legends top best weekend events in Houston

As the temperatures heat up, you may find yourself choosing indoor events over outdoor ones. While there are some great indoor choices this week, most of the big ones will take place in the great outdoors, where you'll be able to enjoy a GLBT celebration, great beer and some classic hip hop, among other things.

Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, June 11

Houston Ballet presents The Taming of the Shrew
For the final production of their 2014-2015 season, the Houston Ballet will adapt one of William Shakespeare's most iconic plays, The Taming of the Shrew. The comic nature of the play is a great fit for ballet, as the feisty Katherina attempts to elude the advances of Petruchio at every turn. The production will run at Wortham Theater Center through June 21.

TUTS Underground presents First Date
The final show of TUTS Underground's 2014-2015 season is an event that's alternately thrilling and nerve-wracking in anybody's life: a first date. A blind date turns into a uproarious high-stakes dinner when other restaurant patrons transform into supportive best friends, manipulative exes and protective parents. It will play at Hobby Center for the Performing Arts through June 21.

Friday, June 12

Rainbow on the Green
In advance of Pride Houston week, which starts on June 21, Discovery Green will host Rainbow on the Green, a citywide GLBT celebration. Among the performers at the free event will be Lady Gaga and Britney Spears impersonator Derrick Barry, RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Coco Montrese and more.

Houston Symphony presents Disney in Concert
Among the more accessible concerts the Houston Symphony puts on during the summer is Disney in Concert, in which they play selections from a variety of classic Disney movies like Frozen, Aladdin, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. The performance, which is also affordable at $20, will be at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

Bayou City Theatrics presents Sunset Boulevard
The latest from Bayou City Theatrics is Sunset Boulevard, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation of Billy Wilder's Oscar-winning film. Featuring Norma Desmond, one of the most indelible characters in movie history, and her relationship with writer Joe Gillis, the production gives a great spin on a classic story. It will run at The Kaleidoscope through June 27.

Saturday, June 13

Pop Shop Houston Summer Festival
If you're on the hunt for handmade or vintage goods, there will be no better place to be this weekend than Silver Street Studios, which will host the Pop Shop Houston Summer Festival. While perusing the wares from over 90 vendors, you can also participate in outdoor and art activities, dance to some great music and more.

2015 Houston Beer Fest
Beer lovers will be in heaven at Hermann Square Park on Saturday and Sunday as more than 60 breweries will be doling out samples of their latest and most special creations. As if that wasn't enough, more than 20 musical acts will put on performances, including Chamillionaire, Hayes Carll, MuteMath, Scarface and more.

LL Cool J in concert with Public Enemy, Doug E. Fresh and others
Scarface will be pulling double duty this weekend, as he will join a whole host of other rap/hip hop legends at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion as part of The Kings of the Mic Tour. The concert is headlined by LL Cool J, but it will also feature Public Enemy, Doug E. Fresh, Whodini, Big Daddy Kane, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Sugarhill Gang and The Furious 5.

Sunday, June 14

MFAH art opening: Habsburg Splendor: Masterpieces from Vienna's Imperial Collections
After a day full of outdoor fun on Saturday, you can have a low-key, air-conditioned Sunday by taking in the latest exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Largely composed of works that have never traveled outside of Austria, Habsburg Splendor explores the dramatic rise and fall of the Habsburgs and their global empire. The exhibit will be on view through September 13.

Bayou City Theatrics will present Sunset Boulevard at The Kaleidoscope through June 27.

Bayou City Theatrics presents Sunset Boulevard

Photo courtesy of Bayou City Theatrics

Bayou City Theatrics will present Sunset Boulevard at The Kaleidoscope through June 27.

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Movie Review

New movie Friendship pairs Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in a bizarre bromance

Photo courtesy of A24

Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship.

Comedian Tim Robinson has gained a cult following thanks to series like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, in which his brand of cringe comedy is on full display. The former Saturday Night Live writer/performer has had a few small movie roles over the years, but he’s now getting his first starring role in the off-kilter Friendship.

Robinson plays Craig, a mild-mannered suburbanite with a wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig has a boring life that involves little more than going to his middle manager job while wearing the same clothes day after day, anticipating the next Marvel movie, and helping Tami out with her at-home floral business.

He gets a jolt of energy when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood. The two men seem to hit it off, with Austin — a weatherman at a local TV channel — even taking Craig on a couple of impromptu adventures. But when Craig commits a couple of faux pas at a group gathering at Austin’s house, their bond starts to fracture.

Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, it’s clear that Robinson had a big influence on the style of comedy it features. There are no big set pieces with a slew of jokes coming one after another. Instead, the film forces the audience to try to vibe with the very particular type of wavelength it’s giving off, one that could almost be called anti-comedy for the way the laughs come out of left field.

The 100-minute film is full of random comedic moments, like Steven kissing Tami on the lips, Craig being obsessed with his plain brown clothes, a group sing-along, and more. More often than not, it’s the way Craig reacts to both normal and abnormal situations that gets the laughs. The character is needy and oblivious, two traits that combine to make many of his actions cringeworthy.

Perhaps most importantly for this type of movie, many things in the story go unexplained or don’t make sense. Seemingly crucial elements are brought up only to fade away just as quickly, while other parts that appeared to be throwaway sections get callbacks later in the film. DeYoung and Robinson are determined to keep the audience on their toes the entire time, never knowing what to expect next.

Robinson has the perfect face for a story like this, one that’s bland enough to blend into the background but memorable enough to sell the jokes. His demeanor is also excellent, never becoming too expressive, even when he gets angry. With long hair, a mustache, and a certain swagger, Rudd is a great complement to Robinson. Only in a film like this would an everyman like Rudd be considered the suave and cool one.

There will be some that will see Friendship and come away wondering what the hell they just watched. But anyone who goes in knowing that they’re about to witness a comedy that challenges their sensibilities will likely have a great time.

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Friendship is now playing in select theaters.

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