Red, White & Royal Blue: Film Review
Based on the beloved bestselling book by Casey McQuiston, Red, White & Royal Blue has a massive built-in audience that won’t be disappointed.
This gay romance stars Taylor Zakhar Perez as Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the U.S. President, Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman). He attends a royal wedding in England and ends up involved in an embarrassing cake-related incident with Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine). To repair their reputations, they embark on a publicity tour to pretend to the press that they’re friends. The pair become closer and closer and fall in love.
This film is fun, cute and hot, with director Matthew Lopez not shying away from the sex side of their romance. The leads have fantastic chemistry and a palpable sense of attraction and I cared about their relationship. But it’s not just spicy – it’s heartfelt and really funny, with tons of laugh-out-loud moments.
The script is a mixed bag though – some lines are so clever, meaningful or considered while others feel clunky, clichéd and overly sentimental. Also, the establishing shots were weirdly low res, the green screen usage was obvious, and you could sometimes feel the budget constraints. However, I did see this on an IMAX screen and you might not notice these visual niggles on a TV.
But Perez’s winning performance easily makes up for these downsides. He is attractive, charismatic and magnetic onscreen and he really sells the emotion later on. Galitzine is also a good-looking man, but Henry is slightly bland and rigid, as a prince must be. Galitzine is best in the quieter, more subtle moments than when he has to raise his voice and make a stand. I also want to give a shout-out to Sarah Shahi for her scene-stealing turn as Zahra, the president’s deputy chief of staff. She is bestowed with many fantastic lines.
I have not read the book so I cannot discuss how loyal the movie adaptation is. However, I attended a screening with passionate fans of the novel and they absolutely adored it – and I really enjoyed it too.
On Prime Video from Friday 11th August