Yahoo Movies Red, White and Royal Blue review: LGBTQ+ rom-com is easy viewing but not a royal romp
The film lands on Prime Video on Friday, 11 August
🎞️ When is Red, White, and Royal Blue on Prime Video: 11 August, 2023
⭐️ Our rating: 3/5
🎭 Who's in it? Taylor Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Uma Thurman, Stephen Fry.
👍 What we liked: The chemistry between Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez is great, and the story is great for queer representation onscreen.
👎 What we didn't: While the original book may have become a sensation, this adaptation feels too familiar to stand out from the crowd.
📖 What's it about? After a catastrophe involving cake, the son of the US President and a British prince are forced to publicly make amends to save US-UK relations, and in private the two soon realise their feelings for each other.
Casey McQuiston's Red, White and Royal Blue was a bit of a phenomenon when it was released in 2019, it set social media alight and soon garnered such a following that it was inevitable that the LGBTQ+ novel would land its own movie adaptation.
Now, thanks to Prime Video, the movie is here and it brings the romance of Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) to life on the small screen.
Read more: New on Prime Video UK in August 2023
The film centres on the pair, one the son of the first female US president and the other an English prince who is fourth in line for the throne. At first the two are at odds with one another, and their animosity is only exacerbated by an incident involving a toppling wedding cake at Prince Henry's brother's wedding that creates an international scandal.
Alex and Prince Henry are ordered to make amends publicly in order to fix US-UK relations, but the more they get to know one another the more the two men realise their true feelings.
Red, White and Royal Blue is a worthy addition to the pantheon of queer cinema, it's sweet, delightful and full of joy, and it's an all round decent rom-com that will delight fans of the genre.
This, however, is also somewhat of a double-edged sword. While it is nice to see an LGBTQ+ film like this, there is not much else that makes it groundbreaking or stand out from the crowd.
As a rom-com there are a number of familiar tropes used, and even though a queer spin has been put on the narrative the film doesn't really bring much that is new to the table.
Perez and Galitzine do have great chemistry together, all things considered, and given the film hinges on the development of their characters' romance it is a good thing too because it is thanks to their performances that the film is still an enjoyable watch.
Uma Thurman and Stephen Fry are interesting additions to the cast as Alex's mum Ellen and Prince Henry's grandfather King James III, but they and other supporting character are given little opportunity to have much character development onscreen.
What other critics thought of Red, White and Royal Blue:
The Wrap: LGBTQ Rom-Com Is Frustratingly Generic (4-min read)
Digital Spy: A winning adaptation of the much-loved book (4-min read)
The Independent: Think Meghan and Harry: The Movie… but gay (4-min read)
Red, White and Royal Blue is an average rom-com at best, perfectly enjoyable but certainly not a film that will have as much of a cultural impact as its source material did in 2019.
Red, White and Royal Blue premieres on Prime Video on Friday, 11 August.
Watch: Yahoo UK's review for Red, White and Royal Blue
