in brief: based on the memoir Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies, this tells the story of how Michael Ausiello (Jim Parsons) and Kit Cowan (Ben Aldridge) meet and fall in love, navigating over a decade of ups and downs before cancer claims Kit’s life.
for me: i don’t usually have any difficulties separating an actor from a character, unless the first thing i was aware of them in perfectly suited them. much as i love him, Nick Offerman is always slightly Ron Swanson, Mark Hamill‘s face is always Luke Skywalker’s, and William Shatner will always be James Tiberius Kirk. this also affects the career of Jim Parsons. admittedly, i haven’t seen him in a lot of things, but his physical and emotional awkwardness were so well suited to Sheldon Cooper that every subsequent role feels like a cousin. it’s the major downfall of Spoiler Alert, because as much as Michael is a fully fleshed out character, he is awkward, he has hang-ups, and is working in his childhood obsession – essentially Sheldon without the phds (i even thought at first that his mum was being played by Mayim Bialik, aka Sheldon’s girlfriend!). thankfully this isn’t The Big Bang Theory: The Movie, but more Bros: The Tragedy, and the film makes similar bold choices about honestly depicting a modern gay relationship as its comedy predecessor did. it is also refreshingly honest about long-term relationships, unafraid to paint the couple we’re falling for as flawed and problematic, because those are the problems that relationships sometimes (often, if we’re honest) face. once the cancer story kicks in there are few surprises structurally, and Michael’s tv obsession is interpreted throughout in a way that will grate with some, particularly in the uk, but you’d have to be made of stern stuff not to get choked up by the end, and since i’m famously not made of stern stuff i was a snotty mess!
mvp: if you can get Sally Field into your film, you must get Sally Field into your film.
verdict: it may be another gay tragedy movie, but Spoiler Alert is honest, funny, and surprisingly hopeful for a tale of doomed romance.
director Michael Showalter // writers David Marshall Grant and Dan Savage (based on the book by Michael Ausiello) // released on demand 03/07/23, and now available on Sky Cinema
onedottoomany 