The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green

The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green brings to life Eric Ormer's long-running comic strip of the same name. Although it took a lot of choices to create an eighty-eight minute movie out of sixteen years of comic strips, the result does capture the social whirl, the promise, and the despair of Ethan Green's life.

Ethan Green (Daniel Letterle) is a 26-year old gay man who has joined with lesbian Charlotte (Shanola Hampton) to rent a house from Ethan's old heart-throb Leo (David Monahan). Ethan has just started a fling with a married, just-out-of-the-closet baseball player, Kyle (Diego Sorrano). When Leo decides to sell the house, Ethan gets a suggestion from cute 19-year old Punch (Dean Shelton) to use the services of depressed Sunny Deal (Rebecca Lowman) to delay any sale. Ethan and others get advice from Ethan's mom (Meredith Baxter) and the two Hat Sisters (Richard Riehle and Joel Brooks). Meanwhile Leo may have developed an interest in a Log Cabin Republican, and Kyle may like Jason Chang. Ethan's tendency to push people away if they get too close sets yo-yo relationships into action. It all resolves happily enough, although Ethan has the opportunity to spoil things enough to generate a sequel.

Since this is a lower-budget production, there was little opportunity to illustrate the science-fiction sorts of themes that were in the strip. To offset this, Eric Ormer was able to create an animated cartoon sequence illuminating one character.

The acting was pretty good overall. I thought the Hat Sisters and Ethan's mother were exactly as they were in the comics. Ethan here is nicer and more passive than in the comics. He is cruised but doesn't cruise, he can resist having sex even when his angel allows it, and he relies on advice to initiate action. In the strip, Ethan is frequently depressed or hostile; in the film Ethan slows down some to consider matters but doesn't get into a funk, other than one scene with Charlotte where he repeatedly calls his own behavior self-destructive. The movie is happy with a dash of farce. It's not a problem or unprecedented, just a choice.

Skin shots are plentiful. Ethan has the most, but Kyle, Punch, Leo, and Juarez (Ramon de Ocampo), an ex of Ethan living with his mother, get to show off too.

The extras are a commentary track by the director, screenwriter, and executive producer, an alternative opening scene with optional commentary, the trailer, a short featurette by Eric Orner giving the history of the comic strip, and some other trailers. You might check out Orner's Ethan Green comic books in the book section too.

The film is able to link many of the traditional brief strips together into a coherent story arc. Fans of the comic strip need not hesitate. People not familiar with the strip will not be disadvantaged. Go for it.

It's refreshing to see a lighthearted gay romantic comedy that delivers what it promises - a fun story with cute characters and plenty of light comedy.

Casting was done perfectly - while none of the characters requird Oscar-worthy performances, the cast members were well-suited for their roles.

I think that seeing more movies like this is an indication of where gay cinema - and the gay community - currently is. That we are able to make fun movies that exist for no other reason than to entertain is a departure from the heavy, highly sociopolitical dramas that have dominated for much of the genre's history (i.e. Longtime Companion, And the Band Played On, Angels in America, etc). All of those movies are brilliant and important, but it's nice to have some fun.

The plot has already been summarized, but I will point out that I didn't find any of the characters overly-stereotypical, especially not in the derogatory sense. I know many people who are very much like the characters in this movie, and I think the somewhat sugar-coated point of the movie - that relationships are not easy but they do require tolerance, patience and ultimately two people who are very much self-aware and honest about who and what they are - was easy to digest.

Watch it with friends as an alternative to hitting the bars one night.

Here it is again - every gay stereotype imaginable. But that doesn't mean that The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green isn't watchable, or even entertaining. The film is habitually bright and fast paced - even if it does stall a little bit in the second act - and has a lot of zingy gay humor, mostly in the form of a lot of acerbic one-liners.

However, to the film's detriment it's production values make it look like a low budget cable TV sitcom than a fully-fledged motion picture and the although George Bamber's direction is lissome, the film is sort of all over the place. Still, Ethan Green is buoyed along by the screen charisma and the ineffable cuteness of the 26-year-old title character played with much panache by Daniel Letterle.

The plot is pretty much de rigor, following the tried and true path of gay romantic comedy. Ethan Green (Letterle) is unlucky in love and is constantly on the hunt for Mr. Right. His choices however are somewhat questionable. Although he's great sex, the hunky, out-of-the-closet professional baseball player Kyle Underhill (Diego Serrano) isn't exactly giving him the emotional fulfillment he needs.

While Ethan tells his best friend Charlotte (Shanola Hampton) that Kyle's still married and a bit of a basket case, but this doesn't bother Ethan nearly as much as his impending eviction from the house he and Charlotte rent from Ethan's ex-boyfriend Leo (David Monahan). Determined to stall the sale, Ethan employs the prissy - and terribly promiscuous - young real estate agent (Dean Shelton) who's helping get the house sold as slowly as possible.

Amidst all the antics and all the young faces, Meredith Baxter makes an appearance as Ethan's trendy mum who is not only more than comfortable with her son's sexuality, but even arranges same-sex weddings! Ethan's two best friends pop up in the form of character actors Joel Brooks and Richard Riehle as "The Hat Sisters," a longtime couple with a flair for eye-catching millinery.

There aren't any huge surprises in The Social Life of Ethan Green and the film isn't trying to make any great statements. And the boy that Ethan eventually ends up with doesn't come as any great shock - most viewers will realize pretty early on that Ethan was meant to be with him.

The film is also sane and fun and comparatively innocent, even though there's a matter-of-fact, often explicit treatment of gay sex which may shock some of the more prudish viewers. Some may also find the irresolute, narcissistic and somewhat egocentric title character more irritating than appealing - I loved him! Yet overall, the film an appealingly modest, light-hearted and unpretentious charmer that can be forgiven for its shortcomings and for its penchant towards school play amateurism. Mike Leonard October 06.

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