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Red, White & Royal Blue review: Royal romance is far too safe and predictable
Red, White & Royal Blue review: Based on Casey McQuiston's novel, this royal fairytale makes the son of the US president and a British prince fall in love.
What if the handsome British royal fell in love with the similarly handsome son of the American President? Make it fairytale romance but also make it very gay, and there you have it- Amazon Prime's addition to the list of royal romance that includes First Daughter, The Princess Diaries, and The Prince & Me. Based on the bestselling novel of American author Casey McQuiston and directed by Tony-winning playwright Matthew López, this is a film of necessary and predictable delights, where real world politics is somehow a manageable task. But look, who's complaining? (Also read: Red, White and Royal Blue director Matthew López on that coming out scene: ‘It might be more for the parents’)
The premise
Surprisingly, the heightened sense of socio-political context starts off well- when the snobbish Prince Henry (a superb Nicholas Galitzine) begrudgingly meets the son of the current president of the United States, Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and their tense rivalry at the Melbourne Climate Conference (smart!) lands them plastered with cake on the ground. Sure enough, the headlines next day are all about the royal crisis. Alex's mother, President Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman) sends him back to the UK for immediate damage control. There you have it- the classic enemies to lovers trope- and sparks begin to fly.
What works
Co-written by Ted Malawar and López, Red, White & Royal Blue remains faithful to its source, while grounding the moments that develop between these two leads. Helpful in this matter is surely the fact that Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine have electric chemistry together- both radiant and charismatic performers who generate enough force to ground the absurdity surrounding them at times. Perez expresses the giddy excitement so well, and matching him is Galitzine with his ambivalence and vulnerability. Together, they are a terrific casting choice.
What doesn't work
The real wobble arrives when the film proceeds to the second half- with the thematic underpinning of monarchy as an institution never taken forward. Red, White and Royal Blue had enough potential to push the envelope in delving into the current socio-political subtext, but it matters so much as keeping it safe and sanitized. The entire subplot of Alex Claremont running for re-election is covered up neatly with a frothy approach to real world politics, where, any real world issue can be broadly dealt with the trope-bait campaigning work by a confident and charismatic youngster in a matter of few months. Surely, if you were to talk about real world politics and relevant action, Red, White & Royal Blue is not the direction to take in the first place.
Final thoughts
For all its finely cut diplomatic gamble, Red, White & Royal Blue remains predictable, layered with frosty virtue-signaling. López grants us access only for the non-conformist central relationship- and there's real thrill in that alone. There is a standout sequence that will leave ardent fans of the book squeal in excitement- when Alex confesses his love and further plans for both of them by the pool. The camera stays focused on Galitzine's face and he plays the undercurrents of fear and uncertainty beautifully. These are the moments that cut out and balance the sugary-sweet taste of the narrative, and make the journey delightful and charming.
