Two powerful families unite through their son’s misunderstanding. A tale of enemies to lovers.
Red, White & Royal Blue, based off the book by Casey McQuiston, is a romantic comedy directed by Matthew Lopez, produced by Amazon Studios and Berlanti-Schecter Films. The central characters are sons from two powerful families in the western world; Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), First Son of the United States of America, and Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), Prince of the United Kingdom.
Throughout my viewing of this movie, I came to notice that there are three different subsections. First, we are introduced to the main characters, our star-crossed lovers, Alex and Prince Henry. In this section, comedy runs rampant! Admittingly, comedy is all throughout, however, this was where I found myself laughing the most. As a viewer, I could instantly tell that the actors, Zakhar Perez and Galitzine, had a natural chemistry. This was evident on how easy it was to watch the two actors play their roles that varied with different emotions; at the start, a neutral hate of one another; in the middle, flustering steamy smut and intimacy; and the outstanding emotions that the two projected towards the end of the film.
At the beginning, where comedy was most present, the two characters initially hate one another, this animosity stemming from a misunderstanding. It’s hilarious to watch the two overly dramatic characters and their seemingly unnecessary hate for one another through witty comments and awkward interactions. It isn’t until after some “minor” disasters where viewers can understand where this hate comes from. This only adds to their ridiculous and hilarious nature. This proved to be my favourite part of the film, with nary a moment where I wasn’t laughing.
During the middle section of the film there’s the evident sense of sexual tension between the two. Again, the comedy was present through their flustering comments and various interactions. Due to this particular nature, younger viewers may be taken aback at some of the content present, with parental guidance advised. It’s also here where we get a better understanding of the characters’ state of mind, their goals, ambitions, and who they are outside of their intimately formed relationship.
The climax of the movie explores slightly heavier topics. The struggles that each character has to endure because of their identities and their social titles leads to an unpacking of family and social tradition, but it’s only through this fight that Alex and Prince Henry endure.
Despite how much I heavily enjoyed this film, I couldn’t help but feel that there were some elements that were slightly lacking. I wanted to see more from Prince Henry. I wanted more of his personal life. I wanted to see what made Prince Henry interesting. Throughout much of the film, Alex’s perspective dominated. I did enjoy this as Alex is hilarious and was well built upon. However, because of Alex’s character building, it felt that Prince Henry wasn’t as defined. The balance was slightly off, though the ultimate heartfelt conclusion offset this character imbalance.
I also wanted more from Miguel Ramos (Juan Castano). As someone with a relatively large part in the overall narrative, I found his inclusion surprisingly lacklustre. Perhaps there’s more of his scenes on the cutting room floor? More of Miguel, I feel, would have served the plot with a more dramatic mindset, thus giving us a better sense of immersion. Ultimately though, I don’t think the lack of Miguel, or Prince Henry for that matter, necessarily prevented the overall enjoyment to this film.
Hilarious, smutty, steamy, intimate, and a feel-good watch, if you enjoyed Young Royals and the diversity of Heartstopper, then I would recommend watching Red, White & Royal Blue.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Red, White & Royal Blue is now streaming on Prime Video.
