My dear f***ing prince

Cramming the content of a novel into a two-hour movie means you're going to see characters eliminated and scenes combined, that's just a given. To say "the book was better" is a well-worn cliche, so I won't use it here, but having read the book first, I was saddled with expectations that were never met.

For a light, two-hour "Hallmark movie the week" style flick? Red, White & Royal Blue was fine. But the cost was having to eliminate most of the emotion, peril and building up to the big scenes that the book had. The pacing felt rushed, and it seemed like the director was trying to get to from one big moment from the book to the next, as quickly as possible before they ran out of time.

Casting-wise, the actors all pretty much looked exactly like how they were meticulously described in the book-with one glaring exception. In the book, Alex was much younger. Closer to 21. He was also noticeably shorter than Henry too, at around 5' 7" or 5' 8" (which is why his "He doesn't look 6' 2"!" line in the film seems to come out of nowhere). Nicholas Galitzine was a decade to old and far too tall for the part. Instead of seeing a young college student fall for a tall, handsome prince? We spent two hours watching two grown Abercrombie & Fitch models trying to "out hot" each other.

Overall the film was cute and worked fine, but it lacked most of the emotion and actual peril the book rewarded us with-and what a 3 to 5-episode mini-series could've delivered.

Although this is a typical romcom drama, it feels seminal because it takes Gay movies quite firmly into the mainstream. Yes, we've had many mainstream LGBT films over the years, but they tended to be hard hitting dramas or sad tragedies, with many focusing on the challenges facing the LGBTQ+ community. Yes, we can refer to movies such as the brilliant Pride or recent (not so great) Bros, the sweet Love Simon etc. But this takes it into the fairytale realm: the love between an American President's son and a British Prince, and so, feels that bit different and special as a result.

What Red, White and Royal Blue does is cross the final barrier in placing a gay love story slap bang in the midst of the romcom genre that has traditionally been so straight for so long ... too long, with gay characters merely ancillary storylines if included at all. It reminds me of the Princess Diaries, for example, and just has that sense of being groundbreaking because it's firmly a movie that anyone would watch and everyone should. In essence, it is a family film, innocuous and largely innocent like most others in the genre.

The lovemaking and conversations around sex were no more and no less in your face than any teen romcom and it was pitched well at a wide audience. It would be an ideal movie for young Gay and Bi people who can see themselves represented unashamedly in a mainstream Hollywood type romcom. In that respect, Hollywood is very late in bringing forward a movie like this and similar have existed for many years in Europe, particularly French/Belgian cinema, and the Irish film Handsome Devil to a good degree.

The two lead actors were very good indeed but Nicholas Galitzine, who plays Prince Henry, really steals the show, not just through his stunning beauty but his remarkable acting ability and subtle emotionality which convey such presence that you'd think he was a very seasoned actor indeed. Taylor Perez isn't far behind and also very handsome and talented. They made a very sexy onscreen couple (swoon!) and they should both be very proud of this film, as should the direction and production teams.

There is a moment of great hilarity when the elusive King of England finally enters, played by none other than Stephen Fry, and it crossed my mind that he'd be equally comfortable playing the Queen, and I did laugh at the idea that he might have. I'm pretty sure he'd be amused by that.

Of course, we wouldn't have films such as these without the original story so much credit to the author Casey McQuiston who wrote the book of the same name. People should credit the author of a story in my view because without them, we wouldn't have cinema and writers are forgotten in many cases, with those who write the screenplay often mistakingly assigned the credit for the story. Lots of people are saying that the script leaves out a large part of the book, certain important scenes and characters and that's a pity that they feel it's not as good as the book, but as someone who hasn't read the book I probably will now and look forward to an even better story.

Overall it's higher end for a romcom in production quality and budget and the cast in general are great. There are the customary cheesy speeches and sappy emotion but underlying it is a strong emotional love story that was very touching and I know there will be much excitement in the LGBTQ+ world about this, Heartstopper style excitement. It is justifiable and well deserved.

Well, if you read the book this movie adaptation may be a disappointment for you. Everything seemed so fast in the movie it's like all the important details from the book are overlooked and are not given justice. Similar to a comment here, maybe it this were a series, then it could have been a lot better. It's like the scenes just quickly pan from one scene to another losing the profound moments reflected in the book. Although quite understandable that they need to fit everything in 120 minute more or so into a movie.

One good thing here are getting these actors hot actors to play the gay roles. I wished though that the romance could have been highlighted more.

Red, White and Royal Blue

This queer romantic comedy tells the story of a British prince falling in love with the son of an American president, and the roads they travel as they explore this love.

This movie is very reminiscent of the queer teen series, Young Royals, especially with the similar themes both portray, but Red, White and Royal Blue has characters that are more aged.

Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine are brimming with cute and endearing chemistry, making this romcom very enjoyable and believable. The progression from enemies to friends and eventual lovers was a bit fast, but each stage has memorable moments. The supporting cast was also good, especially Sarah Shahi and Uma Thurman (the coming-out scene between her and Taylor Perez was very memorable and sweet), but some of their characters could have been fleshed out better.

Having not read the book, I can't state how faithful it was to it, and if this adaptation is better or worse. But there were some resolutions I felt weren't done, like Nick's journalist friend not getting his comeuppance. The movie would have fared better if it was a mini-series. There's also a sort of imbalance that occurs in the sex/romantic scenes, the scenes before the Paris hotel scene have a Disneyesque tame feel to them, and then the Paris hotel scene packs in beautiful smut.

Red, White and Royal Blue is an easy and enjoyable watch, and should definitely please romcom lovers.

6.5-7/10.

This was a feel good romcom that leaned into the fantasy/fairy tale elements that all good rom coms do, and it was exactly what I needed! I can't think of another gay romcom I've enjoyed watching more. A few lines of dialogue are a bit iffy, but overall it's got solid writing and directing.

The movie shines with the passion the team behind it clearly brought to the table. The intimacy coordinator did an incredible job. The performances are all pretty good, and the leads have undeniable chemistry together, making the central romance one that the audience falls in love with as much as they are falling for each other throughout the movie.

Yes, it could fit in with a lot of the other Hallmark/Netflix genre romantic movies, but that's what makes this truly remarkable. The groundbreaking thing about this movie is that it felt like a movie I had never seen, and yet like a movie I had seen a million times. It is peak comfort viewing, it has a happy ending, and I for one am incredibly glad that this movie exists and is happy to just be what it is - unabashedly.

At only 2 hours, I am sure there are a lot of scenes that were cut that I would have loved to have seen included. I do think had this been a mini-series, it would have perhaps been even better. But then again, I think the movie succeeds very well for what it has chosen to utilize. The pace is fast, but it works.

This is a movie I'd highly recommend if you want to enjoy a feel-good romcom.