If you were looking to find some queer joy this holiday season, a trailer for Focus Features’ upcoming rom-com, Spoiler Alert, might do the trick — or at least half of it. While it tells a beautiful story of two men who find love, the film is a biographical feature that recounts the final years of celebrated photographer Kit Cowan’s life. The film’s full title, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies in the End, reveals the sadness underneath the feature, something not made totally clear by the trailer, but that puts the tearful heartbreak that audiences will endure front and center.
The film will follow the relationship between Michael Ausiello (Jim Parsons) and Kit Cowan (Ben Aldridge) and will focus on the couple’s early days of meeting, the growth of their relationship, and the final year of Kit’s life following his terminal cancer diagnosis. Told from Michael’s eyes, the trailer depicts what will be more of a tear-jerker than a laugh-out-loud rom-com. That’s not to say that there won’t be moments of joy for the duo as they begin their lives together and deal with Kit’s wacky parents played by Sally Field and Bill Irwin. Also set to appear in the feature are Antoni Porowski (Queer Eye), Nikki M. James (Broadway’s The Book of Mormon), Jeffery Self, Tara Summers, and Paco Lozano.
Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies in the End is an adaptation of the 2017 memoir of the same name penned by Ausiello. With a sprawling background in the entertainment biz, Ausiello was a longtime writer for TV Guide as well as a commentary contributor for shows including Today, Good Morning America, and Entertainment Tonight. The feature is under the direction of Michael Showalter, who was behind such productions as the Wet Hot American Summer franchise, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Search Party, and The Big Sick. Most recently, the director worked on Hulu's The Dropout and will soon be going into production for the Anne Hathaway-led feature The Idea of You. David Marshall Grant and Dan Savage penned the film’s screenplay.
Showalter also serves the film as a producer alongside Jordana Mollick under their Semi-Formal Productions, along with That’s Wonderful Productions’ Todd Spiewak and Alison Mo Massey. Parsons also produces. Ausiello, Eric Norsoph, and Jason Sokoloff will serve as executive producers.
Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies in the End will hit screens in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco on December 2 before it opens domestically on December 9, followed by a worldwide release on December 16.
You can catch the heartwarming and tear-inducing trailer below.