September 29, 2022
Watch: Trailer Drops for Gay Romance 'Spoiler Alert'
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Gay rom-com "Bros" isn't in theaters until tomorrow, but a trailer has already dropped for another major motion picture centered on a gay romance: "Spoiler Alert," based on Michael Ausiello's moving memoir.
In his book "Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Other Four-Letter Words," Ausiello – a writer for TV Guide and the founder of TVLine – chronicled the 14 years he shared with his partner, the photographer Kit Cowan, and the end-of-life journey Cowan embarked on, with Ausiello at his side, after a cancer diagnosis.
The film is directed by Michael Showalter, who is also known for his 2017 romance/medical drama "The Big Sick," as well as last year's acclaimed biopic "The Eyes of Tammy Faye."
The trailer depicts Ausiello (Jim Parsons) as entering into a relationship with Cowan (Ben Aldridge) with a mixture of hope and trepidation, uncertain how Cowan will respond to his obsession with Smurfs and fears of having his heart broken. In one scene, Cowan confesses to his parents (played by Sally Field and Bill Irwin) that Ausiello is more than a friend, calling him "my boyfriend." Cowan's father then drily says that Cowan's parents are "actually kind of hip," and, to substantiate this, adds: "We were gonna go to Woodstock, you know."
As the trailer continues, we see the moment Cowan received a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Ausiello is heard in voiceover saying, "I was always afraid Kit would break my heart – and eventually he did. He broke it open."
"Looking back," Parsons narrates as Ausiello, "this is less of a rom-com and more of a love story.... And, like all love stories, it never actually ends."
The film, from Focus Features, is set to be released in time for the holiday season in select theaters on Dec. 2 before a subsequent wider release on Dec. 16. "Spoiler Alert" looks like just the sort of tearjerker that's going to break (and warm) a lot of hearts among viewers, too... just as straight love stories have done since the dawn of cinema.
Watch the new trailer below.
