What’s Up: Smiley Face, Shari Lapena book launch, Winnipeg Comedy Showcase, Ximbombo Dance Party, Mending with Tradition

Smiley Face

• Dave Barber Cinematheque, 100 Arthur St.
• Tonight, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Admission $11.50

When all is said and done, and her career on screen is assessed in full, Anna Faris might just be remembered as one of the definitive comic actors of the 2000s.

Aside from starring in the Scary Movie franchise, which has been spoofing prestige and shlock for a quarter of a century, Faris, who turns 50 in November, showed off her comic chops as ex-centrefold Shelley Darlingson in the underrated 2009 film The House Bunny, creating a character who has developed a cult following. On Mom, Faris and co-star Allison Janney balanced producer Chuck Lorre’s penchant for horny humour with genuinely touching performances dealing with thorny issues such as addiction.

All those versions of Faris meet in the centre in filmmaker Gregg Araki’s 2007 stoner comedy Smiley Face, which finds Jane (Faris) sidetracked from the most straightforward mission by cannabis consumption. The extended supporting cast — featuring John Krasinski, Jane Lynch, Marion Ross, Jim Rash and Emmy winner Roscoe Lee Browne in his final role — is loads of fun, with Faris using each scene partner as a funhouse mirror to reflect her ascent into chaotic highness.

Faris, who stars in the current buddy comedy Spa Weekend, will return to more prestigious territory this fall in Primetime, director Lance Oppenheim’s dramatization of the rise of To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen; Faris plays Mary Joan Hansen, the wife of Hansen, played by Robert Pattinson.

— Ben Waldman

 

Shari Lapena book launch

• McNally Robinson Booksellers, Grant Park (1120 Grant Ave.)
• Wednesday, 7 p.m.
• Free

As an inheritance dwindles and an investment goes bad, a New York couple determined to keep up appearances must contemplate offing a family member from whom they stand to inherit millions.

So goes Ontario author Shari Lapena’s 10th thriller, Getting Away With Murder, published in July by Doubleday Canada. Lapena will be in Winnipeg on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park to launch the novel, where she’ll be joined in conversation by Turnstone Press assistant editor Chelsea Young, followed by a book signing.

After a pair of comedic novels to start her writing career, Lapena’s debut thriller, 2016’s The Couple Next Door, took the former lawyer and teacher’s career to the next level, selling more than four million copies and landing on bestseller lists on both sides of the Atlantic. Lapena followed up with thrillers such as The End of Her, An Unwanted Guest and Everyone Here Is Lying.

The launch will also be streamed on McNally Robinson’s YouTube channel.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

— Ben Sigurdson

 

Winnipeg Comedy Showcase

• Park Theatre (698 Osborne St.)
• Sunday, 7 p.m.
• Tickets $24 at myparktheatre.com

The long-running Winnipeg Comedy Showcase returns with host Jared Story and a half-dozen local comedians looking to get audiences laughing.

The showcase, which has been ongoing for over a decade, regularly features a mix of well-established and up-and-coming voices to the stage.

For the 44th instalment of the quarterly comedy series, Story has recruited Mike Green, Tyler Kotowski, Jaydin Pommer, Brandin David, Pat Gagne and Rajat Bhateja to bring their A-games to the to the Park Theatre on Sunday.

— Sheldon Birnie

 

Ximbombo Dance Party

• West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Ave.
• Friday, 8 p.m.
• Tickets $25-$30 at wecc.ca

Fall brings an end to summer festivals, but the return in full force of the regular concert season, from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra to the West End Cultural Centre.

WECC’s second show of September, however, still feels sun-soaked — featuring a who’s who of the local rhythm scene, including Casimiro Nhussi, NAfro Band, Papa Mambo Trio, Kelly Bado, Marco Castillo, Amara Conde, the Crew, Drum Café and Bola Oriyomi.

“Ximbombo” means “the sound of the drum” in the Makonde language of southeast Tanzania and northern Mozambique, and in the words of WECC, calls “the Winnipeg village to come together at the West End Cultural Centre for a night of joy, rhythm and community celebration.”

— Conrad Sweatman

 

Mending with Tradition

• Graffiti Gallery, 109 Higgins Ave.
• Friday, 7-10 p.m. (opening night); runs until January 2027
• Free with a donation of a non-perishable food item

Multidisciplinary artist Jessie Jannuska’s works often feature strong female role models and imagery. In this solo exhibition, she explores Indigenous storytelling through a large mixed-media comic called The Wolf and the Eagle in the Rain.

Focusing on stories of growth and perseverance from knowledge keeper Debbie Huntinghawk, Julia Stoneman and land-based teacher Grace Masse — three women Jannuska met while they were all attending Brandon University — the comic is split into three chapters.

Chapters, made up of between 10 to 11 large canvas panels, explore themes of motherhood, community, ceremony, the Red Road, grief and self-exploration.

Jannuska will be presenting her artist talk at 8 p.m. on opening night. The exhibition runs untl Jan. 22, 2027.

— AV Kitching