RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE – Review

It’s still summer, so it’s still time for light, puffy comedies while the temps are warm. RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE is a beach-read of a comedy, a frothy confection in which a young American meets a young British prince. Except this American is not someone ordinary but the son of the President – a woman President no less. But the president’s son and the royal develop an immediate mutual dislike, but despite their dislike, they are forced to pretend to be friends for diplomatic reasons. You know where this goes but what looks at first like a bromance quickly shifts into gay rom-com. RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE is a modern fantasy packed with rom-com tropes, plenty of silliness, plus a touch of Jane Austen and Harry and Meghan flavor. And it all starts with a disaster involving a giant cake.

Based on the novel by Casey McQuiston, first-time director Matthew Lopez sets out to create a escapist fantasy geared to please fans of the book. This rom-com may be the feature film directing debut for Matthew Lopez, who also co-wrote the script with Ted Malawer, but Lopez is a Tony Award-winning playwright, winning for “The Inheritance.”

Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) is sent by his mother, President Claremont (Uma Thurman, sporting an odd Southern accent), along with Nora (Rachel Hilson), the granddaughter of the vice president, to represent the U.S. at a royal wedding of Britain’s Prince Phillip (Thomas Flynn), the heir to his grandfather’s throne. The media likes to compare the President’s handsome son Alex to Phillip’s younger brother Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), which irritates Alex no end. Entering the wedding reception already miffed by a a perceived snub, Alex has a bit too much to drink and there is an altercation next to the enormous wedding cake, with disastrous results. Back home, the President, Alex’s mom, orders her son back to Britain to pretend to be buddies with Henry, a plan cooked up with British contacts to smooth the diplomatic and PR water prior to an important economic summit.

You know where this goes, but that predictability is part of what rom-com fans like and this one delivers on that with karaoke, parties and other familiar tropes. This is a decidedly modern rom-com too, including a clever representation of texting and some nice banter. The movie uses a lot of familiar names from the actual British royal family but the family structure is significantly rearranged.

The two leads are handsome and appealing, with Nicholas Galitzine adding a “shy Di” touch to his blonde prince. While Prince Henry is gay, Alex is less sure of his sexual orientation, and explores some of that as part of the plot, although there is nothing really heavy here. A few bedroom scenes earned the film an R rating.

Clifton Collins Jr. gives a nice, and too brief, turn as Alex’s Hispanic dad. Stephen Fry gives us a fine turn as the King. Rachel Hilson brings a lot of charm and humor as Alex’s lively best friend Nora, while Sarah Shahi brings a breathless hysteria as the President’s assistant, often tasked with keeping wild Alex in line.

There is not much reality in this fantasy romance, including that re-imagined royal family. Alex moves freely without Secret Service and Henry is able to go unrecognized in a Texas bar, just by wearing a baseball cap. Except for Alex’s one pal who is a member of the press, reporters and paparazzi are remarkably absent.

At about 2 hours, RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE feels like it runs a bit too long, and sags a bit in its later third. For rom-com fans and particularly fans of the book, this movie should satisfy but for the rest of us, this light late-summer romantic fantasy is pretty light on interest too.

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE opens Friday, Aug. 11, on Prime Video.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars