REVIEW: ‘Red, White, & Royal Blue’ Is Better On Page Than On Screen

In Red, White, & Royal Blue, based on the book by Casey McQuiston, Great Britain’s Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) and Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the first son of United States President, Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman), have detested each other since the first time they met. When the two are caught up in a scandal that could ruin relations between the United States and Great Britain, the two governments decide the best thing for both countries is for the two to pretend they are the best of friends. As the two are forced to get to know one another, they come to find out that they have more in common than they first thought. As their friendship begins to shift into something more, the two must decide if they will take the risk of falling for each other or will they let their “duties” to their countries get in the way.

When reading a romance book, an author has the ability to share a character’s inner thoughts right there on the page. These inner thoughts help the reader not only understand the character, but also buy into the blooming relationship. When it comes to bringing to life these thoughts on screen, its easier said than done. You either have to have a character break the fourth wall to explain what they’re thinking or have this character speak their feelings to out loud to another character in the movie. Red, White, & Royal Blue does neither of these things. Instead, Screenwriter Matthew Lopez relies heavily on the chemistry between Galitzine and Zakhar Perez to propel the relationship, which sadly wasn’t enough to cause me to buy into the relationship. Lopez, ideally, could have easily utilized Alex’s best friend, Nora Holleran (Rachel Hilson) and Prince Henry’s sister, Princess Beatrice (Ellie Bamber) as Alex and Henry’s sounding boards, which would have easily shed more light on their feelings towards one another, but ultimately chose not to.

Galitzine and Zakhar Perez were the right casting choices for Prince Henry and Alex, but there wasn’t enough meat to their story. The physical chemistry was there, but as I noted earlier, the build up was not. Thurman stepped in to play Alex’s mom, President Ellen Claremont and I could not get over her accent. The character was originally from Texas before taking on her role as President, but neither Alex, who grew up in Texas, nor Alex’s dad had southern accents. Hilson was great as Alex’s best friend, Nora, but like the relationship between Henry and Alex, there wasn’t enough of her. She was extremely underutilized in this story.

I had really high hopes for this movie. As someone who had read the book, I couldn’t wait to see Galitzine and Zakhar Perez bring these characters to life on screen. Red, White, & Royal Blue has all the makings to be a really great rom-com, but the movie ultimately falls flat. It doesn’t do McQuiston’s book justice. If you are looking to watch a rom-com this weekend, I recommend checking out something else. If you are insistent on watching the movie, give the book a read. It may not be coming to life on screen, but at least it will be coming to life in your mind.

Grade: D