Weekend Event Planner

Here are the top 9 things to do in Houston this weekend

Comedy shows, holiday markets, and concerts are just some of the fun events that will be going on around Houston this weekend. Plus, there's the opportunity to get the first glimpse of the new $84 million Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land and enjoy a holiday show at the same time.

This weekend roundup highlights events for everyone in the family to enjoy and offers a great look at the city's creative culture.

We've put together a curated list of nine of the best happenings in the city, but you can check out more events on the CultureMap Events Calendar.

Thursday, December 15

Slow Food Houston presents A Glean Taste

Prepare to "Eat & Drink to Reduce Food Waste" with Slow Food Houston, a group that celebrates and champions the foods and food traditions that are important to our region. This unique dining experience will feature such local chefs as Chandler Rothbard, Soren Pedersen, Pat Greer, Gina Lopez, Ara Malekian, and Jill Bartholome creating six dishes and drinks from items that would typically be considered throw-away food.

Chris D'Elia at Houston Improv

Fans of Chris D'Elia may be familiar with his role on the NBC sitcom Undateable and his other previous standup work. The comedian will bring his standup show to the Houston Improv for three shows this weekend, likely featuring work from his latest Netflix special Incorrigable.

Weird Sh*t New Works Festival

If you've ever had the desire to be a playwright, now's your opportunity. Rec Room is providing the platform for aspiring writers to submit plays (either a 10 minute or one-act) for a $10 fee; selected plays will then be read aloud at various times Thursday through Saturday.

Friday, December 16

Day for Night 2016

Travis Scott, Bjork, Odesza, and many other amazing musical acts are headlining the second annual Day for Night Festival. In addition to great music, mind-blowing art installations create an immersive and interactive experience for festival goers.

EaDo Playhouse presents A New Brain

Houston's newest arts venue and theater company debuts with the Off Broadway brainchild of theater masterminds William Finn and James Lapine, A New Brain. Examining an artist in crisis, the deeply moving, yet hilarious musical reminds us of the healing powers of art and the importance of appreciating every breath. The company's first production continues through Sunday.

Saturday, December 17

Holiday Market at The Four Seasons

Sip on Mexican hot chocolate and mulled wine while the kids build a gingerbread house at the Four Seasons Hotel Holiday Market. You'll likely be delighted by the build-your-own crepe station and the festive holiday decor that adorns the hotel. Since this is the "Season of Giving," guests can bring an unwrapped toy to be donated to Casa de Esperanza in exchange for a surprise gift from the Four Seasons.

Ruthie Foster in concert

Grammy-nominated blues singer Ruthie Foster has a soulful voice that has been known to emotionally move audiences, and is definitely a voice you'll remember. Also appearing at the concert at the newly renovated Heights Theater is Charlie Belle, an up-and-coming American indie pop duo from Austin.

Sunday, December 18

Taste of the NFL Brunch-Off Preview Party

It's a battle royale as Cafe Annie owner and chef Robert del Grande takes on chef Michael McKinney from Restaurant Orsay in Jacksonville in the Taste of the NFL-Brunch Off. It's a preview of the 26th annual Taste of the NFL party during Super Bowl week at the University of Houston on Feb. 4, 2017, when chefs from all 32 NFL cities will compete. Guests at the preview party are encouraged to wear their favorite team's jersey — we're betting there will be a lot of Texans fans — as they watch TVs showing the Texans-Jacksonville face-off at NRG Stadium.

Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular at Smart Financial Centre

This family-friendly happening will be the first event held at the new Smart Financial Center in Sugar Land in what officials are calling a "soft opening" of the new $84 million arena. The Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular features high flying acrobatics, breathtaking visuals, and holiday songs performed by the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra.

With so many amazing events going on this weekend, we're sure that you'll have a great time checking them out. Be sure to share your experience with us on social media.

Soulful singer Ruthie Davis brings her music to the Heights Theater.

Ruthie Foster/Facebook

Soulful singer Ruthie Davis brings her music to the Heights Theater.

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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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