Red, White & Royal Blue, 2023.
Directed by Matthew López.
Starring Taylor Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Uma Thurman, Clifton Collins Jr., Rachel Hilson, Sarah Shahi, Donald Sage Mackay, Aneesh Sheth, Stephen Fry, Ellie Bamber, Thomas Flynn, Malcolm Atobrah, Akshay Khanna, Bridget Benstead, Gaia Mondadori, Jemma Redgrave, and Juan Castano.
SYNOPSIS:
When the son of the American President and Britain’s prince public feud threatens to drive a wedge in U.S./British relations, the two are forced into a staged truce that sparks something deeper.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Red, White & Royal Blue wouldn’t exist.
On paper, there is something radical about a fictional interracial gay relationship drama involving the offspring of the American President’s son Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), and Britain Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), unable and afraid to properly be together since they have been forced into being public figures and expected to behave a certain way to benefit those in charge of their respective countries. However, Red, White & Royal Blue is too mushy and overly sentimental for any of that to work.
Director Matthew López (co-writing alongside Ted Malawer, based on the novel by Casey McQuiston) is less concerned with the actual political lives these characters have inherited, and when it is, it only tackles that dynamic from such a basic approach, seemingly patting itself on the back for name-dropping current world topics and terms while painting an entirely dishonest and absurdly optimistic portrait of the world. One can’t help but feel the story and romance here would be more effective if the characters didn’t exist in a fantasy version of the world where their legitimate worst fears turn out to be not so bad and not only widely accepted by the public, but still allow the Democrats to flip Texas of all states during the film’s climax (spoiler alert, I suppose, but it’s necessary to drive home the force of which this movie hammers itself into corny, phony nonsense.)
The filmmakers do have the right idea in presenting Alex and Henry as two average guys who are part of these families. Some early scenes are probably a bit too jokey and cringe, starting them off as enemies who fight and tumble into an enormous wedding cake. This causes a joint publicity stunt to show the world that they are actually good friends when in reality, all they do is insult one another from afar for being privileged of all things and more. The comedy rarely lands, but it is admirable that the script takes its time showing these misunderstandings and ribbings transitioning into an unlikely friendship with a romantic gravitational pull.
From there, it just drags along as a relatively dry love story that’s content showing the two men often shirtless and engaging in family-friendly PG-13 intimacy, every so often casually discussing how hard it is to be themselves for fear of public backlash. They aren’t even entirely sure what their parents will think, although Alex’s mom (Uma Thurman) is a left-leaning Democrat, so there is reasonable optimism on that front, even though she spends most of their interactions dismissing his political suggestions and encouragement to focus on helping out their home state of Texas. Meanwhile, Stephen Fry is given a glorified cameo as the conservative King, prepared to go to extreme lengths to cover up the news when a shady and slimy journalist breaks the story to the public.
One tender moment takes place in a museum at nighttime, where the blossoming romance and friction over commitment due to coming out publicly come into play. It’s a powerful moment where the politics they have inherited and social expectations directly come into play. The rest of Red, White & Royal Blue, despite the warm and endearing performances from the central couple, is hokey with no substantial insight beyond the obvious of what it’s like to live such a closeted life as a public figure attached to politics. It’s the kind of movie that exists to make straight people feel good about themselves rather than interrogate any of these complex aspects meaningfully.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
