Spoilers for Red, White & Royal Blue are ahead! If you haven’t watched the rom-com, you can stream it right now with an Amazon Prime subscription.
When I heard the beloved rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue would be making an appearance on this year’s list of book-to-screen adaptations, I was immediately reminded of all the feelings I had while reading Casey McQuiston’s novel. It turns out all those emotions about the First Son and the Prince of England going from enemies to lovers – swooning, affection, amusement and more – were also felt while watching the movie, and I was so happy. Seeing Alex and Henry’s royal love story play out on screen was a lovely experience (even though I have one minor complaint). Overall, I was left feeling all warm and fuzzy inside when the credits started to roll on the Amazon Prime rom-com, because this movie brings all these wonderful emotions out of its audience.
Swooning
I’ll say it, Alex and Henry are a hot couple, and I won’t apologize for it – it’s simply a fact. They are gorgeous boys, they have undeniable chemistry, and their story had me wishing for my own First Son or Prince love interest. Both Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez understood the assignment, and played Henry and Alex, respectively, perfectly, making me, and many viewers, fall head over heels in love with their love.
From their steamy scenes in the red room and Paris, to their heartfelt moments shared in Henry’s home and the art museum, the couple was so undeniably in love with each other, I couldn’t handle it. Not only were they swooning for each other, I was swooning hardcore over the two of them too.
Affection
The amount of love, care and affection I felt toward Henry and Alex is overwhelming in the best way possible. After the first second I saw these two boys interact, I knew I was a goner, and I was 100% invested in their stories. Seeing how much they care for each other, their loved ones and their countries only added to this affection, and throughout the movie, I was actively cheering them on.
This emotion was at the forefront specifically when the two boys faced hardship. When Henry struggled to figure out how to be his truest self while handling the pressures of being a prince, I couldn’t help but empathize with the sweet prince who was trying so hard to do what was best for everyone. Then, when Alex came to London to support him, and they fell onto the stairs in a hug, I was grabbing for a tissue. And don’t even get me started on that “History, huh?” line… my heart was basically leaping out of my chest.
Amusement
This movie brought both the rom and the com in big ways, and I was so pleasantly surprised by how they infused the film with tons of comedy. While rom-coms are always funny, they tend to lean more into the rom side, which this movie does. However, it also has genuinely silly and hilarious moments throughout that had me legitimately laughing out loud.
The scene that had me laughing the hardest was hands down when Zahra found out about Alex and Henry by barging into their hotel room. As she’s freaking out, the boys share a sweet moment about Henry telling his sister about their relationship, before Zahra freaks out again. Sarah Shahi’s strong-willed chief of staff was constantly cracking one-liners as she tried to keep Alex in line, and nothing beat her yelling:
And as for you Little Lord Fuckleroy, you get your ass back to merry old England right now. I want you chewing on a goddamn crumpet by sunset. And if anyone sees you leave this hotel, I will Brexit your head from your body. You got me?
Throughout the film, there are tons of lines like this one that poke fun at the wild premise and logistical nightmare of the first son and a prince falling in love. And overall, this self-aware and direct sense of humor left me wildly amused.
Bummed
Before I go further into this, it’s vital for you to know I LOVE this movie. Overall, my minor issue with the film stems from being a fan of the book and not being overjoyed about one of the changes made to Red, White and Royal Blue. At its core, this movie is about Alex and Henry. With that said, because it's about 2 hours, and 418 pages of book can’t be crammed into that amount of time, understandably, cuts were made. But did we really have to fully cut out June?
That’s right, the biggest reason I was bummed while watching this movie was because Alex’s older sister in the book, June, was not included. In the novel, June is her little brother’s support system, she’s hilarious and she plays an integral role in his relationship with Henry. While the movie works just fine without her, as a June Claremont Diaz fan, I was big-time bummed that she wasn’t there and Alex was portrayed as an only child.
Overjoyed
If you weren’t feeling all warm, fuzzy and overjoyed by the end of Red, White & Royal Blue, then you probably didn’t watch the same movie I did. As the first reactions for RWRB rolled in it became clear that we were in for a wholesome romantic treat, however, watching this movie I was left in a daze over how happy I was.
However, the reason overjoyed is last is because of the fantastical film’s final sequences. Between Henry and Alex waving to the big crowd of fans outside of Buckingham Palace, making their first official appearance as a couple, and Alex’s mom winning re-election with both boys present, the end is triumphant and joyful. It honestly is such a happy ending that the film should have ended with a note saying “And they all lived happily ever after,” because I’m fairly certain they did after those joyous final moments.
Much like when I read Casey McQuiston’s novel, I was feeling all the feels as I watched Alex and Henry’s lovely love story unfold in the adaptation on the 2023 movie schedule. From crying tears of joy when Henry felt safe and comfortable in his sexuality to laughing my head off watching Zarah do damage control on this bonkers situation, I couldn’t help but feel a whole swath of positive feelings throughout the film. The overwhelming positive emotions that ran through me far outweighed the slightly negative one, and I know for a fact I’ll stream Red, White & Royal Blue over and over again.
