SPOILER ALERT (2022)

As the landscape of LGBTQ+ film expands (however slowly) in wide-release, Spoiler Alert is the first to truly deliver a heartfelt, real story that is sure to leave audiences a tearful mess.

Based on true events, Spoiler Alert follows Michael Ausiello (played by Jim Parsons) and his partner Kit (Ben Aldridge) through the early days of their budding relationship to the challenging realities once the latter becomes ill. In a year that has seen LGBTQ+ comedies enter the landscape in the form of Fire Island and Bros, Spoiler Alert is a refreshingly genuine story of a same-sex romance that trades the shine of Hollywood glorification for a relationship that left me feeling seen, one more representative of the community. Parsons and Aldridge are phenomenal throughout, their chemistry off the charts and the latter delivering an absolutely heartbreaking performance with authenticity and care. The film trades the frills of fictionalized drama for something more basic, more in tune with the realities of identity struggles and health developments. It takes a page out of Ausiello’s book (literally, this is based on the best-selling novel) in presenting the story through the individualized lens of the author’s obsession with television in a unique way.

Sally Field and Bill Irwin play important supporting roles here as Kit’s parents, and anything with Field is going to grab my attention. What the two veteran actors provide, especially field, is a raw, emotional perspective on familial love and acceptance in many forms. In fact, that’s what Spoiler Alert does so well, ensnaring the audience into the ups and downs of love and life with a tightly crafted script. It shows a very relatable story, interchanging relationship roadblocks and life challenges notwithstanding, that is hard-pressed not to absolutely mangle your heartstrings. This is reality, this is life, and this is the type of story that must be told. Spoiler Alert is not only an honor to Michael and Kit’s love, and Kit’s life, but to to prospect of finding your person for all.

Spoiler Alert hits theaters December 9th, 2022.

Rating: 5/5