Spoiler Alert – Film Review

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and you know what that means! Time for watching an extremely dark and depressing romantic drama from Michael Showalter in the form of Spoiler Alert? Huh… In all honesty, this is a hugely festive movie, albeit one that is sure to make you tear up and make you wish that there was no such thing as cancer. We’ve all been affected by cancer in our lives – whether you’ve had it or a family member has. It sucks.

Showalter does an incredible job at showcasing the pain and grief one might go through upon learning that someone near and dear to their heart has been diagnosed with it. In this film, we follow a lovely couple – Michael and Kit – who seem like each other’s perfect match. They’ve been together for well over a decade when suddenly, Kit starts experiencing some strange pains in his body. Upon some doctor visits, he learns that he has stage four terminal cancer.

This news is devastating not only to Michael but to us as a viewer, as well, because even though we knew it was coming, it hurts so much because when the diagnosis is given later in the movie, we’ve already gotten to see so much of his life pre-cancer. It makes us furious because we truly feel as though we are about to watch the end of someone’s life. The scenes in which we watch Kit not able to do anything except for sleep and eat are painful to watch, but screenwriters David Marshall Grant and Dan Savage were able to pen a script that was remarkably sharp and emotionally gut-wrenching.

One thing that truly surprised me here was just how fantastic Jim Parson was in the role of Michael. Parsons is obviously known for his long tenure as the goofy nerd Sheldon Cooper on the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory, but here, he plays a completely different character. Since this is based on a true story, Parsons plays Michael Ausiello who is actually the creator of TVLine in real life, as also depicted in the film.

It’s a side to Parsons we’re not used to seeing before, but I can only hope we get to see more of it because he really finds his footing in this role. He manages to find a great balance between being absolutely hilarious and emotionally resonant. He also has wonderful chemistry with co-star Ben Aldridge, who portrays Kit. They feel like a legitimate couple to the point where it’s hard to view them as actors while watching the film.

But this movie isn’t all doom and gloom. There are a handful of moments sprinkled throughout that are sure to make you laugh. There’s one scene in particular early on that involves Smurfs that made me teary-eyed from laughing so hard. Showalter crafted a film that found a great balance between being funny and devastating without it feeling jarring. He’s a supremely talented director and I hope we get to see more of his work sometime soon.

Spoiler Alert is an emotionally gut-wrenching romantic drama about the grief and horrors of finding out your loved one has been diagnosed with cancer. Jim Parsons and Ben Aldridge give career-best performances that are completely awards-worthy.