As little as ten years ago, the idea of an unabashedly LGBTQ rom-com being the most popular film in the world was a rare one. An even crazier idea was that an immensely successful gay rom-com would be taken for granted and even seen as normal. The new RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE is solid evidence that what once seemed far away is now normalized, a positive progression in Hollywood that should be highly celebrated. Amazon, the production company behind the film, is now throwing tens of millions of dollars at films that embody representation for queer culture, a standard which will no doubt have a positive impact on future releases. However, though RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE is daring enough to lead this movement, it conforms to the expectations of the rom-com genre in every other aspect. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily — if the formulaic rom-com is done correctly then it can be charming and fun, aspects which this film contains in abundance. However, the movie never rises above the minimum required to be a successful and influential release, and it would have benefitted from more originality.
RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE is based on a popular novel by Casey McQuiston, and follows the relationship of the son of the President of the United States and a British prince, two seemingly opposite personalities who develop feelings for each other. The dynamic is one audiences are sure to have seen before in modern romances: two attractive people from vastly different backgrounds form a connection in a climate that doesn’t want them together. The novelty of this particular take on the classic trope is the setting of modern-day politics — what if a British prince fell in love with a major political figure from America? The Crown has been historically racist and homophobic, so this dynamic creates enough tension and conflict to create an interesting rom-com. The two main actors — Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine — have perfect romantic chemistry and play their characters with plenty of charisma and charm. Fans of the novel and of romantic comedies in general will surely be obsessed with the two actors’ scenes with each other.
In this sense, RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE is an entertaining turn-your-mind-off-and-enjoy flick to watch with a significant other. But given the interesting subject matter and inspiring representation, a bit of subversiveness or effort to stand out from the pack would have been appreciated. By watching the first five minutes of the film, it is remarkably easy to predict beat-for-beat what will occur in the rest of the movie. Less than 30 minutes into the runtime, I was able to accurately predict who would be the cause of the third act conflict and how this character would disrupt the main couple’s relationship. This doesn’t necessarily ruin the movie because director/writer Matthew Lopez knows he’s making a mindless rom-com, but the intention doesn’t negate the fact that memorability goes out the window when no wholly original plot elements or jokes are included.
The goal of the filmmakers seemed to be to make a big-budget Hallmark movie for the gay community, and RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE undoubtedly ends up succeeding. The tone and intention of this film reminds me of 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians, a movie that paved the way for rom-coms with predominantly Asian casts to be successful at the box office. Filmgoers still look back at Crazy Rich Asians positively because of what it did for the communities it represents, yet the actual plot details are rarely mentioned because of how generic they are. In fact, both of the aforementioned films have similar plots: two lovers of different backgrounds fall deeply in love but must grapple with the fact that their rich family doesn’t approve of the relationship. Both movies also play out exactly like you would expect them to, eradicating any suspense that the plot could generate.
Again, this does not make either movie “bad” — some of the best romantic comedies of all time follow the exact same formula. It just feels like a slight missed opportunity to lead the pack in terms of representation and make a movie that will likely not be avidly talked about in more than five years. I suppose that maybe this was the intention — if straight people can churn out constant average rom-coms that follow the same formula, why can’t we have queer rom-coms that do the same? However, I cannot say that this mentality stands true or holds up regardless of who is represented. At the end of the day, the films that work the best are those that can stick to a workable formula while also creating originality within the confines of the clichés. RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE is an otherwise entertaining watch that contains plenty of juicy romantic tension between the two standout lead actors, but future movies that attempt to capture the same demographic should arrive with something more memorable than what this film offers.
B-
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