From Jeremy Kibler

If the straights got The Prince & Me, Chasing Liberty, and First Daughter—all frothy 2004 romantic comedies either involving royalty or First Children—queer audiences now get Red, White & Royal Blue, the big-screen treatment of Casey McQuiston’s 2019 novel. The hate-at-first-sight romance between the female American President’s son and a British heir has developed quite a fervent fan base, and based on writer-director Matthew Lopez and co-writer Ted Malawer’s pleasant, swoon-worthy screen adaptation, it’s easy to see why. 

A modern-day fairy tale of sorts but still set in a recognizable reality with politics, Red, White & Royal Blue starts with the trappings of a burgeoning Hallmark romance. First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of Madam President Claremont (Uma Thurman), is a law student at Georgetown but something of a party animal. Across the pond, Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) is a little stuffy, but he’s under a lot of pressure. It’s night and day for Alex and Henry, who dismiss each other, but only at first. After a royal wedding “cake-tastrophe” at Buckingham Palace between these two young men makes the tabloids, they must shake hands like they’ve been best mates all along on a pardon tour of photo ops and interviews. They can barely stand each other, but then they actually get to know one another. Their transatlantic correspondence and visits grow more and more intimate, until the closeted Henry actually kisses Alex. Because they’re both public figures, this physical-turned-emotional relationship can’t get out, especially not to the press about Henry. Will this relationship be forever? Is it getting hot in here?

Taylor Zakhar Perez (The Kissing Booth 2) and Nicholas Galitzine (Cinderella) are wonderful together and share palpable, crazy-sexy chemistry. On their own, Perez is likable and charismatic as hell (and extremely easy on the eyes), while the equally handsome Galitzine gets to tap into Henry’s inner emotional turmoil, particularly when the two share what should be a pivotal moment on a lake raft. Uma Thurman commits to the Texan drawl as President Ellen Claremont, and later scenes that Thurman and a refreshingly against-type Clifton Collins Jr., as Congressman and First Husband Oscar Diaz, each share with Perez’s Alex are not idealistic but honest, affecting, and funny. 

In supporting parts, Sarah Shahi gets some of the sharpest lines and nails every one with her great timing as Zahra, President Claremont’s snappy Deputy Chief of Staff and advisor. Her expressive reaction upon discovering Alex and Henry’s relationship is also a small bit of comedic brilliance. An engaging Rachel Hilson also stands out as Nora, Alex’s closest friend who also works for the president’s re-election campaign. Although there’s only so much time for every character to get time to shine, Aneesh Sheth is another fun side player as a Secret Service agent with whom Alex shares friendly rapport, and Stephen Fry is understatedly hilarious in one scene as Henry’s grandfather King James III.

With any page-to-screen adaptation, there’s always the worry that the film will be too slavishly faithful, cramming in every possible character and incident without the proper, organic development. Outside of wanting more time with scene-stealing characters on the sidelines, playwright-turned-director Lopez (in his feature debut) makes sure nothing feels wedged-in merely to please readers. Though jarring at first, Lopez figures out a visually fresh and more intimate way of presenting text messages, e-mails and phone calls, despite our characters being more than 3,000 miles away, that thankfully isn’t just shots of finger gymnastics and the ordinary split screens. There is also a nearly breathtaking shot in slow-motion during Alex’s New Year’s Eve tent party on the South Lawn; in the midst of every guest getting low to Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz, Alex and Henry share a lovely moment of yearning by being the only ones standing, as if it’s just them versus the world.

For what is an R-rated romance between a closeted gay man and a bisexual man, it is accessible if fairly sanitized for those who have seen their fair share of LGBTQ+ films. Not that we needed graphic ass play and tons of male full-frontal (a very funny cutaway to the erect Washington Monument takes care of that), but there is a safeness here, and that’s just more of an observation than a criticism. Even after these two are as strategically draped in their bedsheet post-coitus as any man or woman would be, the film at least trusts its audience to let us just sit with Alex and Henry and let them talk. We come to understand the different worlds they both come from, one a democratic, formerly working-class household and the other a proper, far more traditional one, along with the loss of a parent. 

Cute and romantic but also moving and candid at times, Red, White & Royal Blue is a genuine charmer that proves gay love stories don’t all have to end in heartbreak or tragedy. It’s a feel-good film, delivering exactly what its built-in target audience wants, as well as those unfamiliar with the source material. We, as a community, deserve a tried-and-true confection like this when queer cinema of yore so often ends on a bummer note. Those films are important, but sometimes we want cake.

Rating: 3.5/5

Red, White, & Royal Blue is now streaming on Prime Video.

Follow Jeremy at @JKiblerFilm