An inside look at the new film The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green with stars Daniel Letterle and Diego Serrano.

By Lawrence Ferber

Dating life in the gay community can be pretty cartoonish. So cartoonist Eric Orner had a deep well of inspiration to draw from during his long-running, sharply satirical comic strip about the screwy romantic life of a 20-something gay guy, The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green. Now the strip makes full circle back to reality—well, movie reality—thanks to a new, live-action adaptation by director George Bamber.

Bamber's film sees Ethan (Daniel Letterle) in a (self-made) pickle of love, relationship, and real estate troubles. When housemate and ex-boyfriend Leo announces the impending sale of their home, Ethan starts looking for another place to live—or a way to sabotage the sale. Meanwhile, Ethan falls for Kyle (Diego Serrano), a hot, recently out baseball star, but sabotages their relationship as well. Enter Punch (Dean Shelton), a super-dizzy and horny teenage real estate office assistant who could remedy—or complicate—things on all fronts.

While the film is based on an original screenplay written by David Vernon, some beloved Ethan Green comic strip characters make appearances, including the outrageous, cross-dressing Hat Sisters (played by Joel Brooks and Richard Riehle, the latter of whom was recently seen giving Joseph Gordon Levitt's character a blowjob in Mysterious Skin). Ethan Green himself comes to neurotic life through cutie Letterle, who became a major object of desire for many gay guys with his portrayal of the straight but flirtatious Vlad in 2003's Camp. (Letterle can also be fleetingly spotted in Jonathan Caouette's Tarnation during the sequence involving a musical version of Blue Velvet.) A new character, the hunky Kyle, is played by Serrano, who won a Star Search modeling contest at 18 and appeared on TV soap Another World.

Both actors are straight, but they truly went for the gay gusto—including a hot-yet-hysterical sex scene together in which sporting goods are involved. To get the scoop on Ethan, sporty sex, and the universality of screwed-up relationships, I spoke with Letterle and Serrano.

IN: Were you familiar with the comic strip before hearing about the movie? And how did you prepare once you were cast?

DL: No, unfortunately I wasn't. So I read the comic strip and took a lot of notes from my director. I would hang out with my gay friends and see how they would act and react in different situations and would try to copy it. There's a friend of mine, he seems to be going through boyfriends like every five minutes, so I kind of related [Ethan] to him.

DS: No. I did research once I knew about the movie, and knew it was a huge comic, but I had never read it.

And what sorts of notes and direction did George give you?

DL: George wanted to make [the movie] more like a French farce, so he wanted to keep everything fast-paced and he gave me a lot of freedom on how I wanted to do it. I have to thank him for that. Pretty much gave me a lot of freedom.

Have you known any of these Ethan Green-types in real life?

DL: Yeah. Sure, I think we all have that self-sabotaging side in each and every one of us. I completely understand him.

DS: Yeah, I've met friends like that who can never be satisfied. They're always looking for [the downside] instead of looking at the positive. Inevitably they end up by themselves because they're just wrecks. I think we're all kind of like that in some ways.

Have you dated more Kyles or more Ethans?

DL: Probably more Kyles.

When have you sabotaged yourself in the past?

DL: Let's see… making something out of nothing, jealousy. I used to get jealous a lot but not anymore. I'm all settled down now.

Diego, what is your take on Kyle, and did you relate to him?

DS: Kyle is a guy who pretty much just came out of the closet, being married to a woman who was pretty much high-maintenance but really sweet. Well, he's a pretty sensible character and I'm like that.

How are you most unlike Kyle?

DS: He's just a normal human who just doesn't know what he wants. He's very confused and I'm not confused. I know what I want.

You two have a hot and heavy sex scene that involves sporting goods.

DS: Yeah, and I kept breaking out in laughter. George came over and said, “Look we have to concentrate and do this.” And the last take we shot was the one they cut into the movie. I tried to get through it. It was so hard. I was laughing and uncomfortable.

How were the sex scenes with Dean different than the ones with Diego?

DL: Dean was a lot younger so it was difficult to get him comfortable with what we had to do. Diego just jumped into it.

Diego, at 18 you won a Star Search modeling contest. As a modeling competitor, did you have to stand there and suck in your cheeks? What exactly did you do to win?

DS: You never saw Star Search? Day to day they just videotaped you in, like, a jungle, coming out in slow motion. It was pretty cheesy. It was funny. Then you would go and do a regular walk for Ed McMahon. I had fun, I had a good time. I got to go to Florida for a couple of weeks.

Would you like to see the Ethan Green movie spawn into a cable TV series?

DL: Yeah, I could see it being like a Sex and the City-type series. I think that would be great.

Ultimately, are straight people as dizzy as Ethan Green when it comes to love and romance?

DS: As busy?

Dizzy—screwing up their own love lives, etc.

DL: Sure. I think people find ways to sabotage themselves, whether subconsciously or if you can just never get it right. People go through relationships and relationships and inevitably there are the ones who need help and blame everyone else. I think gay, straight, black, blue, we all go through the same emotions.