The Sex and Secrets of ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’
A lot of people have opinions about the son of the President of the United States falling in love with the Prince of England.
Red, White & Royal Blue, the new rom-com based on Casey McQuiston’s bestselling novel, was the No. 1 movie on Prime Video worldwide over its first weekend of release, the streamer announced in a tweet. (Take that opaque bragging from the company’s own account for whatever you think it’s worth.) It also dominated conversation on social media throughout the weekend; its trending topic surged; and it spawned myriad memes. That popularity is still a fairly remarkable accomplishment for a queer rom-com—even today, with all the progress that’s been made in inclusion and visibility for the LGBTQ+ community in film. As Prime Video said in its tweet: “History, huh?”
Directed by Matthew López, Red, White & Royal Blue begins not with a kiss but with an international incident. Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez) is sent to the U.K. to attend a royal wedding on behalf of his mother (Uma Thurman), who is the first female president of the United States. Alex has a contentious history with Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), the “spare” to the throne who is around his same age. When they see each other at the reception, they bicker, which leads to some innocent shoving and, eventually, the entire wedding cake falling on them.