Oddball Cinema

Oddball Cinema’s Sunday-afternoon shows at Beatley Library in 2026 will be devoted to unfamiliar realities; that is, movies in which the universe simply doesn’t work the way anyone except the filmmakers would expect. In today’s feature, Dolph Springer, a resident in an ordinary house in an ordinary suburb, wakes up one morning to realize that his dog Paul has disappeared. He begins his quest to find Paul logically: he goes out looking for him, asks around if anyone has seen him, etc. Alas, logic will not provide a solution because Dolph lives in a universe where cause-and-effect does not apply. Please refrain from shouting out questions like, “why did that happen?” or “why is that character doing that?” No one will save you from your own confusion, and everyone will be laughing too hard to care anyway.

■ Title — Wrong
■ Director — Quentin Dupieux
■ Cast — Jack Plotnick, Eric Judor, Alexis Dziena, William Fichtner
■ Unrated, suitable for teens and adults
■ ©2012 | 1h 34m | Comedy, Mystery, Lunacy
■ Distributed by Giant Pictures

On Academy Awards night the residents of a small Midwestern town are all spellbound in front of their televisions. A local boy who went to Hollywood has been nominated for Best Actor, and everyone is watching as the envelope is opened. He wins! He makes his way to the podium and delivers his acceptance speech, gratefully acknowledging those who helped him achieve this honor. In particular, he thanks his high-school drama teacher, and in doing so mentions that the man is gay. This declaration comes as quite a surprise to the folks back home – especially the teacher and his fiancée!

■ Title — In & Out
■ Director — Frank Oz
■ Cast — Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck
■ Rating — PG-13
■ ©1997 | 1h 30m | Comedy, Romance

In the distant future, medical student Driscoll Rampart begins his internship on Rusta, a rural planet that doesn't rotate around its axis, with the result that one side is always day and the other always night. The light region is a Victorian-style colony, the dark a medieval kingdom. Both leave Rampart in a state of constant wonder, as he finds his way among humans and aliens, strange dreams and even stranger reality. This made-for-TV movie was the pilot for a series that was never made. Heavy on philosophy and complicated relationships, it was too daunting for test audiences of the time; were it introduced today, it might get a better reception.

■ Title — White Dwarf
■ Director — Peter Markle
■ Cast — Paul Winfield, Neal McDonough, Ele Keats
■ Unrated, suitable for general audiences
■ ©1995 | 1h 30m | Drama, Sci-Fi

■ Watch it free with ads on Fawesome:
https://fawesome.tv/movies/10528834/white-dwarf
■ Watch it free with ads on Tubi:
https://tubitv.com/movies/100011575/white-dwarf

■ As with most of our online features, you can watch this one whenever you like. Members who watch at the scheduled time may enjoy exchanging comments with other members on this page. If you post a comment before the show, please avoid spoilers. Comments posted after the show may contain any content, but Oddball Cinema encourages members to always avoid spoilers unless there’s some particularly important details you need to mention.

■ Many of the movies on our online events from as far back as March 2020 are still available for viewing. However, titles sometimes move from one streaming service to another. If you find that the links on an old event no longer work, you can search for the current providers of any title here: https://justwatch.com