Flipping out

Olympics' biggest stars join Houston's Simone Biles for thrilling gymnastics showcase in Houston

Jordan Chiles, MyKayla Skinner, Jade Carey, and Grace McCallum won a trove of Olympic medals in Tokyo — and now they're coming to Texas entertain fans in a thrilling gymnastics "spectacular." Nearly every member of the Team USA gymnastics squad (minus one, sadly, Sunisa Lee) will join headliner Simone Biles on the Gold Over America Tour stopping at Toyota Center on October 8.

According to an August 19 news release, also performing will be 2016 Olympic gold and silver medalist and Dancing With The Stars champion Laurie Hernandez; All-American, NCAA National Champion and viral video sensation Katelyn Ohashi; winner of three gold medals in 2019 and 2020 at the Tokyo World Cup Morgan Hurd; elite gymnast Shilese Jones; former USA Gymnastics Women's Athlete of the Year Chellsie Memmel (who mounted a comeback at Nationals in Fort Worth); 2021 French Olympian Melanie De Jesus dos Santos; and 2018 NCAA National Champion from UCLA where she achieved 10 perfect 10’s, Peng-Peng Lee.

“The Athleta Presents Gold Over America Tour will match athleticism and entertainment,” Biles says in the release. “The show embodies the themes of empowerment and togetherness, which was on display in Tokyo. Together, all the gymnasts on this tour want to inspire the next generation of women and athletes.”

Beyond being a demonstration of eye-popping twists and flips, the show promises to promote values of empowerment, friendship, positive body image, mental health awareness, and self-confidence, organizers say.

But let's be real. We're there for the eye-popping twists and flips, too — and we know this dream lineup can raise the roof with them.

For those who need an Olympics refresher:

(Deep breath)

Houston's Biles — the most-decorated gymnast of all time — experienced a medical issue called "the twisties" after qualifying rounds, which made her death-defying stunts too dangerous to compete safely. When she suddenly dropped out of the team final, her Texas training mate Chiles and calm-and-collected teammate McCallum delivered some unscheduled clutch performances that helped win the team silver medal.

And then ... when Biles couldn't compete in the vault final, Skinner — who hadn't qualified, announced her retirement, and packed her bags to leave Tokyo — got the call to compete in Biles' spot and won herself a silver medal.

And then ... Carey, who'd flubbed her vault in the same final where Skinner won the silver medal, came charging back the next day with a stunning floor exercise and won herself a gold medal.

And then ... Biles returned triumphantly on the very last day of competition with a "twist-less" balance beam routine she could compete safely, and won herself a bronze medal.

(Exhale)

These shining stars of the Games will each perform some of their most famous routines mixed with career highlights, personal videos, and social media interactions; "the show is a high-energy, gymnastics-meets-pop-concert spectacular," the release says. A crew of gymnastic dancers under bright LED video screens and lights will heighten the adrenaline, and some ticketholders will get to join them onstage at the end.

It could be fans' last time to see Skinner perform, as she still plans to retire. Biles has not yet announced her future plans, but there was much pre-Olympics speculation that she'd hang up her leotard after this year, too. Both women are a "grandmotherly" 24 in a sport dominated by teenagers.

Local fans of Hernandez will be happy to see her back on the mats, too, as an injury in warmups at the National Championships took her out of the Fort Worth competition; she served as an NBC commentator at the Olympics. (Follow her comeback journey, as well as those of Hurd and other elite gymnasts, in the excellent docu-series Golden, streaming on NBC's Peacock app — one episode goes inside Dickies Arena for Nationals.)

The 35-city tour, which starts September 21 in Tucson, Arizona will also make Texas stops in San Antonio on October 6 and Houston on October 8.

Tickets for the Houston show start at $30, available through Ticketmaster.

To sign up for more information about VIP packages and a chance to dance in the show finale, visit www.GoldOverAmericaTour.com. Follow on Instagram & Facebook @GoldOverAmericaTour, Twitter @GoldOverAmerica and YouTube. #GoldInAllOfUs

Five of these Team USA gymnasts are going on tour.

Getty Images

Five of these Team USA gymnasts are going on tour.

tours sports

Movie Review

Safe cracking takes center stage in new heist movie Tuner

Photo courtesy of Black Bear

Leo Woodall in Tuner.

Of all the ways that movies depict people trying to steal money and other valuables, safe cracking is among the least exciting. By design, it’s a laborious process that only those with a very certain set of skills can do. While clever editing and the right music can enhance scenes of safes being cracked, there’s a reason that the method is among the least used in heist films.

In the new film Tuner, Niki (Leo Woodall) has a job and a condition that just happens to lend itself well to committing that specific crime. He works as an apprentice piano tuner for Harry (Dustin Hoffman), usually doing the hard work while Harry schmoozes the client. Niki is well-suited for the job because he has a rare condition called hyperacusis, which makes him both sensitive to loud noises and able to hear subtle things that others cannot.

When he runs across a trio of criminals trying to break open a safe at a house where he’s tuning a piano, he helps them more out of frustration than avarice. But when Harry goes into the hospital and racks up huge bills, Niki decides to join the group to make some quick money. They soon want more than he’s willing to give, and he must find a way to extricate himself from them without losing himself completely.

Written and directed by documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher (making his narrative feature debut) and co-written by Robert Ramsey, the film has a nice pace to it despite there being relatively little action. Roher and Ramsey spend the first third or so establishing Niki, Harry, and Harry’s wife Marla (Tovah Feldshuh) as characters, letting the audience understand their relationships and how they interact with each other.

The time they devote to the personal storytelling pays dividends when Niki starts to descend into crime, as his divided loyalties — not to mention the danger of the thefts — insert tension into the plot. That stress is heightened even more when Niki starts a relationship with piano student Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), as getting closer to her necessitates a series of lies.

There comes a point, though, where the plot stagnates to a degree. Niki’s end goal, if he has one, is never clear, and it’s obvious that it’s only a matter of time before things start to fall apart. After starting strong in their character development, Roher and Ramsey take shortcuts as the film rushes toward its conclusion. This is most notable in a weird argument scene between Niki and Ruthie that comes out of nowhere and seems to serve no purpose in the story.

Woodall, who had a memorable turn in season 2 of The White Lotus, is on the cusp of breaking out, and this understated-but-compelling lead role should help him become an even bigger name in Hollywood. Hoffman has a small role, but he remains as interesting as ever despite the lack of screentime. Liu (Bottoms) is also an up-and-coming actor who should become a star with more roles like this one.

Tuner is a low-key thriller that succeeds because of the way the filmmakers approach the under-used method of robbery. Even if it doesn’t quite reach its potential, the film maintains a high quality throughout thanks to its storytelling and acting.

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Tuner is now playing in theaters.

movies film

Flipping out

Olympics' biggest stars join Houston's Simone Biles for thrilling gymnastics showcase in Houston

Five of these Team USA gymnasts are going on tour.

Movie Review

Safe cracking takes center stage in new heist movie Tuner

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Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta acquires Caesars for $17.6 billion

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