Spoiler Alert (2022) with Jim Parsons streaming on Peacock.

It's based on a 2017 memoir by Michael Ausiello called Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies and the movie similarly tips its hand by beginning with the death scene, then retracing the evolution of the relationship. There aren't many surprises; love and loss figure in so much modern (and classical) storytelling that maybe we've become wary of its tropes, and this movie is particularly resonant of books and movies from the early era of AIDS, before the drugs. And there may be a temptation to turn away because who among us hasn't had some kind of personal experience with disease and death, either through friends or family? But there's so much else we can recognize in the movie that it becomes almost a cathartic ritual, which I think is the real intent. There's a lot of humor, both as a way of drawing us into the characters and as a way of sustaining us through the toughest moments. (The Parsons character credits Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment for his hospital waiting room freakout to secure his partner a bed.) For gay people this may seem familiar: the circle of friends, the family members who have to be brought up to speed, etc. But for a general audience, maybe now more than ever, it's important for them to see gay relationships being built from the ground up in a way they can recognize, because there are powerful forces trying to turn us into something they don't recognize. This movie is not "dated"; it's as relevant now as it could possibly be.

The cast is solid; Jim Parsons finally has a lead role and makes the most of it as an entertainment writer (Michael) who falls for a photographer (Kit), played by Ben Aldridge. Sally Field and Bill Irwin play Kit's parents, who have been kept in the dark about his sexuality but quickly rise to the occasion. Sally Field seems to me to have kind of faded into the background in the recent promotional hype for 80 for Brady, but in Spoiler Alert she reminds us what a powerhouse she can be and her scenes, particularly one-on-one with Parsons, are among the movie's most memorable.

I've been waiting for this to show up and was really pleased by what I saw. I'll post the theatrical preview to help others make up their mind.