Whirligig

Nicholas is pretty much a loser. After unsuccessful gigs as a bonsai tree salesman and a Mormon missionary in Japan, he's hit an all-time low. With nowhere else to go, he tracks down his reluctant parents at their home by the sea. Even when they make him sleep in the barn and try to bribe him with a one-way ticket back to Japan, he doggedly refuses to leave, swilling red wine by the liter. Dad spends his days making colorful whirligigs, those folk-art novelties that turn in the wind. Nicholas himself is a big kid going in circles, all bluster and no substance. His attempt to learn to drive is thwarted when he mows down the mailbox of his neighbors, a theater director named André and his unhappy wife Nina. Far from being angry, they embrace him-so much so that he and Nina start a torrid affair. Soon Nina's young son Qwang helps Nicholas get pointed in the right direction. Based on screenwriter Michael Amo's own experience with life at rock bottom, WHIRLIGIG features the beautiful wind-swept Nova Scotia coast and a star turn by Gregory Smith of TV's “Everwood.” -B.B.