Review of Red, White & Royal Blue (2023) by Exceladeogun — 11 Aug 2023

Red, White and Royal Blue.

This queer romantic comedy tells the story of a British prince falling in love with the son of an American president, and the roads they travel as they explore this love. This movie is very reminiscent of the queerRed, White and Royal Blue.

This queer romantic comedy tells the story of a British prince falling in love with the son of an American president, and the roads they travel as they explore this love.

This movie is very reminiscent of the queer teen series, Young Royals, especially with the similar themes both portray, but Red, White and Royal Blue has characters that are more aged.

Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine are brimming with cute and endearing chemistry, making this romcom very enjoyable and believable. The progression from enemies to friends and eventual lovers was a bit fast, but each stage has memorable moments. The supporting cast was also good, especially Sarah Shahi and Uma Thurman (the coming-out scene between her and Taylor Perez was very memorable and sweet), but some of their characters could have been fleshed out better.

Having not read the book, I can't state how faithful it was to it, and if this adaptation is better or worse. But there were some resolutions I felt weren't done, like Nick's journalist friend not getting his comeuppance. The movie would have fared better if it was a mini-series. There's also a sort of imbalance that occurs in the sex/romantic scenes, the scenes before the Paris hotel scene have a Disneyesque tame feel to them, and then the Paris hotel scene packs in beautiful smut.

Red, White and Royal Blue is an easy and enjoyable watch, and should definitely please romcom lovers.

6.