I suppose when the title is “Spoiler Alert,” I’m allowed to give things away in my review, especially when the movie itself does that in the very first scene, where we see a man in a hospital bed, clearly close to death.
That man is Kit Cowan (Ben Aldridge), and his husband Michael Ausiello (Jim Parsons) is bedside, holding his hand as we flash back to when they first met and how their relationship evolved. It’s a classic opposites attract story. Michael is editor-in-chief of a TV magazine, Kit doesn’t even own a television. Kit likes to show off his body, while Michael (a self-described “former fat kid”) doesn’t want to take off his shirt when they’re making out. Michael is obsessed with Smurfs to the point he has little blue dolls and figurines all over his bedroom, Kit not so much.
At times, “Spoiler Alert” feels like “The Big Sick,” the 2017 hit written by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, also directed by Michael Showalter, with one person in a relationship getting quite ill while the other supports them as best they can. Like its predecessor, “Spoiler Alert” features recognizable actors as the parents of the sick person — in this case, Sally Field and Bill Irwin. It also includes one scene lifted directly out of “Terms Of Endearment,” which set a new standard for tearjerkers.
Unfortunately, not only does “Spoiler Alert” not break any new ground — I don’t consider its focus on a gay couple revolutionary in any way — it also follows the beats of similar movies while offering nothing new about relationships or caring for loved ones. Parsons was obviously cast in the hopes his presence would bring in some “Big Bang Theory” fans, but he’s about 20 years too old to play Michael (on whose book, “Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies,” the movie is based). Moreover, Parsons’ timing seems a bit off, as if he’s struggling not to infect the goings-on with anything resembling Sheldon, the TV role he played for a dozen years.
Showalter did such a good job with the “The Eyes Of Tammy Faye” last year it’s disappointing to see him falling back to this weak treacle. “Spoiler Alert” is a formulaic weeper that’s not worth your time.
I give it a 4 out of 10.