''The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green'' is a syndicated comic strip drawn by

Eric Orner Eric Orner (born c. 1965, Chicago) is an openly gay American cartoonist and animator, whose works often revolve around LGBT issues. He is best known for long-running syndicated comic strip '' The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green'' ...

. Appearing in

lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

publications, the strip's title character is Ethan Green, a young

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

man trying to balance his professional career as a personal assistant with his search for love. It was started in 1989 and ran for 15 years. In 2015, several years after retiring the strip, Orner published the compilation book ''The Completely Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green''."Rekindling the Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green"
''

Daily Xtra ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former ...

'', June 26, 2015.

Film adaptation

In 2005, George Bamber directed a film based on the comic strip, starring

Daniel Letterle ''Camp'' is a 2003 American musical comedy-drama film, written and directed by Todd Graff, about an upstate New York performing arts summer camp. The film is based on Graff's own experiences at a similar camp called Stagedoor Manor, where many sc ...

as Ethan Green,

Meredith Baxter Meredith Ann Baxter (born June 21, 1947) is an American actress and producer. She is known for her roles on the CBS sitcom '' Bridget Loves Bernie'' (1972–73), ABC drama series ''Family'' (1976–80) and the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1982 ...

as his mother, Diego Serrano as his boyfriend Kyle,

Shanola Hampton Shanola Hampton (born May 27, 1977) is an American actress best known for her role as Veronica Fisher on Showtime dramedy '' Shameless'' and as the face model of Rochelle in the video game ''Left 4 Dead 2''. Acting career 2000–2010: Early c ...

as his roommate Charlotte,

Scott Atkinson Scott Atkinson (July 23, 1966 – February 26, 2021) was an American actor and screenwriter from Pennsylvania best known for his many television roles, including recurring roles on ''Desperate Housewives, The Jamie Foxx Show, Commander in Chief (TV ...

as Chester Baer, and

Joel Brooks Joel Brooks (born December 17, 1949) is an American actor, known for his roles in '' Stir Crazy'', ''My Sister Sam'', '' Six Feet Under'', '' The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green'' and '' Phil of the Future''. Brooks also had a recurr ...

and

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. He portrayed Walt Finnerty on ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005) and The Warden on ''The Young and the Restless'' (2007). He also appeared in over 200 films, including '' Glory' ...

as the Hat Sisters, an older gay couple in Ethan's circle of friends who are known for wearing outrageous hats. Roy Firestone wrote music for the film, including the title song "Don't Walk Away". The film premiered on the

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

circuit in 2005 and enjoyed a limited theatrical release beginning June 16, 2006.

Plot

Twenty-six-year-old Ethan lives with roommate Charlotte in a house owned by his ex-boyfriend Leo in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

. Ethan has been dating former pro

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player-turned-autobiographer Kyle Underhill for several months, so when Leo announces he plans to sell the house, Ethan starts dropping hints to Kyle that they should live together. Inexplicably, when Kyle actually asks him to move in, Ethan breaks up with him. Ethan hooks up with a younger man, Punch, who works in a real estate office. Together they conspire to delay the sale of Leo's house by convincing him to sign with the world's worst realtor, the terminally depressed Sunny Deal. However, Charlotte ends up sleeping with Sunny which knocks her out of her depression and motivates her to make the sale. Meanwhile, after a nostalgic one-night stand, Ethan has decided he wants to get back together with Leo. Unfortunately, Leo has gotten engaged to a controlling and even emotionally abusive

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Chester Baer and Ethan's event planner mother has agreed to plan their commitment ceremony. In an odd moment, Leo, Punch and Kyle end up in a torrid threesome in Ethan's bedroom. Punch decides that Ethan isn't mature enough for him and dumps him. Kyle, who'd been considering taking Ethan back, abruptly changes his mind. Chester forgives Leo and they go ahead with their plans. The house sells, Charlotte and Sunny move in together and Ethan signs a lease at a local

retirement community A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves; however, assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socializ ...

. Ethan crashes the commitment ceremony but only to give Leo his silent blessing. However, at the altar, Leo has an

anxiety attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...

and has to be taken away in an ambulance. A few days later Ethan settles in at the retirement community and the screen fades to black with the words "The End". The screen then fades back up on Leo talking with a lady retiree. As Ethan stands nearby, Leo tells her that he gave Chester his ring back and broke up with him. Leo has realized that he still loves Ethan. He and Ethan reconcile and the film ends as they kiss.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green, The American comic strips 1989 comics debuts 2004 comics endings LGBT-related comic strips Humor comics American comedy films American LGBT-related films 2005 comedy films 2005 films American comics adapted into films Films based on American comics Here TV original programming LGBT-related comedy films 2005 LGBT-related films 1980s LGBT literature 2000s English-language films 2000s American films