Movie Review: The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Nathan Green

Note to all involved: guys + dresses + big colourful hats does not necessarily equal funny. There has to be flair and funny dialogue involved. The two 'drag queens' in question are Ethan Green's adoptive fathers, for all practical purposes. Ethan - our everyman, fallible hero - is desperately looking for love and then runs away screaming when he is at risk of finding it. He is still friends with an ex he dumped or was dumped by (the movie is not completely clear on this). Ethan still has feelings for him, which start to stir as his ex becomes involved with an obnoxious right-winger. In the meantime Ethan gets involved with a beefcake sportsman and a teenage skank. Will he find love? Well, take a wild guess.
This movie is a frustrating mix of good and bad. Ethan 's couple of gay 'uncles' stick out like sore thumbs. They are two middle-aged masculine looking men in girly, ill-fitting clothes, which the writer seem to think is funny in and of itself. Another bad call was casting Dean Shelton as a kid that everyone in the movie seems to think is really hot. Not that he is bad-looking but he really does not live up to the billing of hottest-guy-in-the-movie. He doesn't even make the top three. (The same thing bugged me all throughout both Queer As Folk versions with the Brian Kinney character.)
The 'selling real estate' angle that supports most of the plot is not exactly the height of suspense the writers intended it to be. In general, the somewhat surreal and slapsticky brand of comedy used here, distances the viewer from the movie, even though some of the jokes work. It seems to expect us to empathise with Ethan, but comedically pulls the rug out from under us too often for that to really happen. What also bugged me - pun sadly intended - was a sex scene shot for laughs, where it seemed barebacking must be going on, though the 'snap' of a condom off-screen would only have added to the humour. Easiest entry in the history of anal sex by the way (even beating the one in Brokeback Mountain).
Meredith Baxter (the mom from Family Ties) is funny as one of those 'too cool to be real' moms only seen in gay movies. She organises gay and lesbian 'weddings' and is of course drafted to organise the one for Ethan's ex. She does the best with what she is given, but it seems more could have been made of her. And then there is Ethan himself: actor Daniel Letterle. Cute as a button and he is perfectly naturally gay. By which I mean, he does not overdo it for comedic effect or play it straight to disprove a stereotype. He seems at ease as Ethan and it is surprising that, according to the IMDB, he has apparently dropped off the face of the earth since he made this movie. He is very easy on the eyes and has charm to spare. I would love to see him as a regular gay character on a mainstream series. Diego Serrano as the jock also makes an impact, and looks very, very good without a shirt. In general there is a sense of everyone having a fun time and the goodwill that creates, makes up for some of the jokes falling embarrassingly flat.
This movie is symptomatic of most gay comedies: uneven, some hints of amateurism but well-intentioned and entertaining enough for an evening's cuddle on the couch with your lover. But don't expect it to be the last thing you talk about on your deathbed.