weekend event planner

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

Take part in the Revolution when Prince's band stops here on Sunday.

It's holiday season, with many Houstonians enjoying a much-needed getaway. For those still here, it's a relatively quiet week of events: All the hardcore stuff happens Monday night — New Year's Eve — when we all count down to 2019.

Until then, enjoy these fun happenings:

Thursday, December 27

Tea with the Dames at the MFAH
If you're a huge fan of old, English ladies getting together and shooting the breeze, here's the new documentary Tea with the Dames, which will be playing Thursday through Saturday at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. This film features legendary British actresses Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Maggie Smith meeting up for a weekend in the country and just reminiscing about their glorious, award-filled careers as acclaimed dames. 7 pm.

Station Theater presents The SpaceCat Show: Thursday Night Comedy
Improv comedy can either be a fun or grating experience, depending on who's doing the ad-libbing. Hopefully, the folks who put on Station Theater's SpaceCat Show will be giving audiences more of the former. Every Thursday night, guests can see a line-up of local Houston improv comedy teams followed by SpaceCat Lab, the theater's signature house team, who debuts a new improv comedy form every season. 8 pm.

Friday, December 28

Jill Scott vs. Erykah Badu — Night Light Vibe and A Tribute to Jill Scott presented by Liz Vaughn
It appears that two different events on Friday night will be saluting neo-soul queen Jill Scott in very different ways. First up, there's the 3rd Ward Tours' Night Light Vibe, which will have people cruising the streets on Dutch bikes while listening to music from Scott as well as Dallas R&B diva Erykah Badu. Meanwhile, over at Martini Blu, local vocalist Liz Vaughn will be doing a tribute to Scott, performing some of her most well-known ditties. Both start at 7:30 pm.

Saturday, December 29

Save Drag Queen Storytime
Apparently, there are people who don’t like it when drag queens encourage children to read. When a branch of the Houston Public Library started a program earlier this year where local drag divas read to kids, some folks freaked out, even taking legal action over it. This is why the Freed-Montrose Neighborhood Library will be holding this protest, welcome to those who want their young offspring to learn more about literacy — and acceptance. 1 pm.

Kato Gentry's Last Day Party of the Year (Ugly Sweater Edition)
Just because Christmas is over doesn't mean you can't rock that ugly Christmas sweater one last time. The Davenport will be having a day party where guests are encouraged to show up in their tackiest yet most festive top. DJ MeekThaFreek will be spinning tunes, while the EaDeaux's food truck will be out near the patio. And after you're done partying, you can go home and finally put that ghastly piece of clothing in storage until next Christmas. 2-8 pm.

Divine Kegel at Cactus Music
Any band that named themselves after a memorable phrase from a Key & Peele skit has got our full attention. This El Paso band is a garage-punk two-piece featuring Daniel Lopez on guitar and Elijah Watson on drums. The group has been described as a trifecta of Death From Above 1979, Lightning Bolt, and Black Sabbath. Before they headline a show this Sunday night at the White Swan Live, you can sample them at this in-store performance. 3 pm.

Sunday, December 30

The Last Supper of 2018 at The Flat
Chef Casey Guhl of the Food Music Life food truck is laying out quite the spread for The Flat's year-end, blowout party. Let us just list some of the succulent items on this menu: bacon macaroni and cheese stuffed in whole roasted squash, pomegranate basil mahi mahi ceviche, pork ribs in adobo sauce served over polenta, and brisket lasagna and aged shredded cheddar cheese. 4-8 pm.

The Revolution at House of Blues Houston
It still hurts that Prince Rogers Nelson — better known as just Prince — was taken away from us a couple of years ago, at the way-too-young age of 57. Thankfully, his music lives on, as well as his backup band, The Revolution. The band he officially introduced to the world in the iconic 1984 movie Purple Rain, this quintet — Lisa Coleman, Wendy Melvoin, Bobby Z., Matt Fink, and Brown Mark — accompanied on the Purple One on his most classic albums, which they are now on performing on tour. 8 pm.

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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.

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