This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Red, White & Royal Blue follows the son of the President and a British prince as they are forced to stage good relations to save U.S./British relations but end up falling for each other. Starring Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine as our two leads, Red, White & Royal Blue is a classic enemies-to-lovers love story.
They hype surrounding this movie and it’s immense popularity in pop culture cannot be understated. In essence, the film has launched Nicholas Galitzine into the stratosphere. But when it comes to the actual substance of the film, I had no interest in it.
Red, White & Royal Blue just felt like the typical streaming rom-com that has been coming out ever since movies like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Kissing Booth took off. I’ve seen both of them and they didn’t intrigue me at all. They all just feel the exact same and no matter what twists they try to throw, it’s just the same story.
Plus it looks and feels cheap, but that’s just the straight-to-streaming guarantee. Granted I do like the chemistry between Perez and Galitzine, the characters feel so thin. Perez is the cocky son of the President while Galitzine is the prim and proper prince. The attempts to add nuance to the characters are just shallow and predictable. Everything you need to know about them we learn in the first 16 minutes.
However, I’d be really heartless to say that this movie doesn’t have any charm. The romance between the two leads was sweet and there were some very emotional scenes. Galitzine in particular had some lines that made me get all tender.
There are some great moments that hammer home the tone of acceptance, really punctuated in the final act. While it doesn’t always look the best, it didn’t take anything away from those moments. The thought was there and that’s what really matters.
Final Thoughts
Red, White & Royal Blue has a specific audience in mind. I ultimately see the appeal. It moves fast, features attractive leads, and the enemies-to-lovers storyline mixed with the forbidden romance element makes for an interesting concept. Those things don’t entice me enough but I’m not here to rain on everyone’s parade. This movie is doing well and is popular and that’s always good for the industry.
