Spoiler Alert (2022)
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Spoiler Alert Movie Review
Spoiler Alert is a 2022 romantic drama film directed by Michael Showalter and starring Jim Parsons and Ben Aldrich. It’s a sweet, but overly familiar tale.
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“I’ve always imagined that my life was like a typical romantic comedy“
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Writer Michael Ausiello embarks on a roller-coaster ride of emotions when his partner gets diagnosed with terminal cancer. Based on an autobiographical novel of the same name, this film is quite touching in its difficult subject matter and very realistic in its depiction of cancer patients and how utterly unhelpful most treatments are. This made for a very tough watch for me as somebody who is unfortunately all too familiar with this issue.
The main problem with the movie is that it’s way too old-fashioned in its approach of tracking the entire downward spiral of this journey. They should have gotten around it and edited out some moments for a more uplifting approach, thought the ending is inspiring in its own way. The movie also lacks humor for the most part, which is unfortunate as the novel apparently was quite comedic in tone.
Jim Parsons is surprisingly strong in the main role. I’ve always considered him to be pretty good in the dramatic roles and better fitting for them than the comedic ones. Here, we get some of his comedy, but only sporadically, and he sold his character’s emotional anguish very well. I also really admired the performance from Ben Aldrich, who is this lesser-known actor who really delivered here. The dynamic between these two is so heartwarming as you really buy their love.
Bill Irwin and Sally Field are both wonderful in the supporting roles of the parents. Spoiler Alert is beautifully traditional in that regard as it showcases the importance of family. The two sharing so many lovely moments with Kit’s parents made me so happy. The movie has a lot of heart, which is evident in its every sequence.
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I just wish that it was better directed, which is odd as its director was behind some wonderful, strong movies with ‘Hello, My Name Is Doris’ being the best one. But his directing here was pedestrian and the editing department really failed this film as the frequent cuts that bring those sitcom scenes brought nothing to the table. The entire idea was a weak one and it simply did not work. The film really needed stronger technical aspects overall.
Spoiler Alert is a very well acted and moving drama about a difficult subject matter. It has a big heart and it’s consistently engaging and sweet. The characters’ relationships were also wonderfully developed. The problems here are twofold. One is the overly familiar, old-fashioned approach to storytelling while the other is the lack of any elevated technical aspects with the editing and directing being particularly subpar.
My Rating – 3.5
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