The spoiler alert of Spoiler Alert is that the hero dies… which is the full title of the memoir this movie is based on. Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies by journalist Michael Ausiello. I haven’t read this book and I’m sure it’s just as cheerful and uplifting as this death romance.

The flick opens with Michael Ausiello’s husband in bed, dying of cancer and then flashes back (with narration) to how they met, fell in love, discovered each other’s living spaces, only to find out about the cancer diagnosis. And then we can watch the inevitable as it crushes our spirit (and makes some of the audience members behind me weep openly).

This is a delightful and sweet film when it’s a romance and a rip-your-heart-out tear-jerker when it goes dark. Jim Parsons plays Ausiello and Ben Aldridge plays his squeeze and they are very good together. This is clearly a gay romance played straight (ahem)… they are gay and in love and it’s simply not treated as a big deal (except for the coming out to the parents scene). 

The movie is gently funny and very sweet without getting raunchy or saccharine. I enjoyed their relationship, even though the movie spoils the ending for us going in. And that ending is very powerful and emotional. If there weren’t a few scenes in the middle that kind of muddled the pacing, I’d have given the flick a higher score for simply tearing the hearts out of the audience behind me (and making me a little misty eyed too).

It’s an excellent drama, a gentle rom-com, and a tear-jerker all rolled up into one direct, no frills film about a gay couple. I enjoyed this one quite a bit, even as it tried to turn me into a weeping mess. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. But it came close.

Score: 88