Calgary Underground Film Festival 2008

When Cindy married a rock star, Frank, in 1983 she imagined a life of glamour and GRAMMYS. But the song that propelled Frank to fame, Whirly Girl, would be the only chart-topper from his short-lived group, OXO. Years later, out of shape and nearly bankrupt after spending his money on "gas, food, dry cleaning and drugs." Frank is not the vision Cindy married.

Desperate to resuscitate her dream, Cindy furnishes a new studio for Frank in hopes he'll record another hit. Instead, he'd rather drink. Upset by his lack of ambition, Cindy berates him incessantly ("I hate every fat bone in your body!"). And now, twenty-three years after appearing on American Bandstand, Frank lives sequestered to the basement where he uses coffee cans as his improvised bathroom.

Both appalled and amused by his parents' behavior, Cindy's filmmaker son, G.J., picks up his video camera and aims it at them. After a year of filming, what began as an attempt to mock his one-hit-wonder step-father, instead becomes a candid portrait of the pursuit of happiness.

Official Selection: NY Underground, Silverdocs, Florida Film Festival
Awards: Winner, Jury Prize Best Documentary; Raindance Film Festival, 2007