In one of the more effective moments of 鈥淪poiler Alert,鈥� the camera does something unexpected and wise: it leaves the room. At the very moment a dining-table conversation becomes unbearably painful, the viewer is moved outside, where we can only watch the characters in shadows through a window, hearing nothing.
We don鈥檛 need to hear the words. We know that Kit (Ben Aldridge) and his boyfriend Michael (Jim Parsons) are telling Kit鈥檚 parents (a heartbreaking Sally Field and Bill Irwin) that their handsome, charismatic son has a likely fatal disease. We know them all well enough to fill in the blanks.
It鈥檚 a moment of admirable restraint, in a film that doesn鈥檛 always make that choice. While often deeply moving, directed by Michael Showalter and based on the relationship memoir by Michael Ausiello, seems at times unable to decide what kind of film it is, resulting in a number of jarring tonal shifts 鈥� particularly one at the very end, which distances us from the characters and their plight just when we're feeling the most committed to them. At times 鈥淪poiler Alert鈥� feels like an edgy, clever film that plays wittily on the main character鈥檚 lifelong obsession with TV. At others, it feels like a more formulaic, holiday-themed tearjerker 鈥� the passing years are marked in a Christmas card montage! 鈥� that wrings our tears in unsubtle ways.
It鈥檚 no crime to be the latter, but the film often reminds us that it seeks to be the former. In any case, bring those Kleenex because you鈥檒l need them. You WILL cry. That much is a given.
We witness the couple鈥檚 first meeting at a bar. Michael, a journalist who covers television (Parsons both stars and produces), is hardly one for bars. He鈥檚 a 鈥渨ork late, get up early guy鈥� and sticks to Diet Coke. But a colleague has dragged him out, and now he sees Kit across the dance floor, and he鈥檚 gorgeous, so, well, that鈥檚 that. (Aldridge IS impossibly charming 鈥� if you don鈥檛 know this actor already you will probably, like me, start randomly Googling 鈥淭ell me about Ben Aldridge.鈥� And 鈥� spoiler alert! 鈥� he鈥檚 British and totally nails the American accent.)
Soon after, the two are having dinner and talking about their lives. Truth is, there is little that ostensibly links these two 鈥� not their jobs, not their family circumstances, certainly not Michael鈥檚 obsession with the Smurfs, though we're getting ahead of ourselves there. But chemistry works in mysterious ways. Soon they鈥檙e at Kit鈥檚 apartment, awkwardly hooking up.
Well, awkwardly for Michael, who's way less comfortable, and explains that he is a FFK (former fat kid) and thus has body issues. In case you can鈥檛 quite picture this, we have a running motif where Michael鈥檚 youth is depicted as an old-fashioned sitcom 鈥� a device that feels clever at first, but wears thin.
Anyway, soon Kit has given Michael closet space in his apartment. When Kit comes down with appendicitis (unrelated to later health issues) his parents insist on coming to New York, and this results in a hilarious attempt by Michael to 鈥渄e-gay鈥� Kit鈥檚 apartment (did we mention? Kit hasn鈥檛 come out to his parents yet.) That 鈥淏eaches鈥� DVD? Gone. 鈥淲hen Harry Met Sally鈥� too. And much more.
Once at home, though, it takes Mom only a few minutes to figure out that Michael, who somehow knows where the spare sheets are, is more than a casual friend. 鈥淚鈥檓 gay,鈥� Kit blurts out finally, and the parents are upset 鈥� because he hadn鈥檛 told them earlier. 鈥淲e鈥檙e actually kind of hip,鈥� says Dad. It's Field more than anyone in the film who'll bring you to tears as she navigates love and loss.
More than a decade goes by (punctuated by those Christmas cards) and the couple is having domestic trouble and living separately. But then tragedy strikes, bringing them closer together. We witness the excruciating doctor visits, the differing medical opinions. Soon Kit is starting chemotherapy, and when there's no bed available, only a chair 鈥� a painful situation for Kit 鈥� Michael goes into full 鈥淭erms of Endearment鈥� mode. 鈥淕et my husband a bed!鈥� he bellows at the nurse.
And just when you think it鈥檚 all a little TOO Shirley MacLaine, he cops to the joke: 鈥淚t worked for Shirley MacLaine,鈥� he tells Kit. It's a sign of the film's frequent tonal shifts that you weren't quite sure.
In any case, from here, you鈥檙e on your own, dear viewer, because my careful notes devolve into 鈥渘oooo鈥� and 鈥渟ooo sad."
Spoiler alert: Love 鈥� romantic, platonic, parental 鈥� often comes at a terrible price.
鈥淪poiler Alert,鈥� a Focus Features release, has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America 鈥渇or sexual content, drug use and thematic elements.鈥� Running time: 112 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
Jocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press
