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Josette Rader

Taylor Munsell

ENC 1102, 80167

13 October 2023

Red, White & Ratings Bias

Red, White & Royal Blue, is an Amazon Studios movie based on Casey McQuiston’s

debut New York Times Bestseller by the same name. The fan-anticipated movie with a run time

of two hours was released straight to streaming in July of this year to a slurry of reviews ranging

from positive to blandly disinterested. Where one falls on this spectrum of receptions seems to

rely most heavily on their connections to minority communities, be they people of color, women,

or LGBTQ+. It seems this movie incites the most overwhelmingly negative response from

straight, white, cisgender men, who regard themselves most highly as everyone’s target audience.

With a surprising rating of R, a rarity for the romantic comedy genre of movies,

especially those with a distinctly Hallmark feel, RW&RB follows the point of view of President

Claremont’s (Uma Thurman) first son Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) as his dislike

of the British Royal spare, Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) sets off an unfortunate wedding

mishap. His charmingly silly and widely publicized drunken destruction of an obscene royal

wedding cake becomes the inciting incident that promptly leads to a calculated goodwill media

campaign by both countries. The contrived scenario of public appearances together and staged

friendly interviews between Alex and Henry cultivates a forced proximity trope worthy of any

staple romcom.

Mainly relying on character dialogue for exposition, Alex and Henry engage in flirtatious,

often silly (and I mean that in a sentimental way not the pride and prejudice way) banter. A
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cleverly crafted conversation between Alex and Henry takes place symbolically in a closet,

where the discussion about when their vitriol started reveals the source of the rivalry that we

began the movie in the midst of. This entirely important and somewhat emotional info dump is

carefully punctuated by physical comedy verging on slapstick reminiscent of The Three Stooges.

As their relationship progresses from thinly veiled hostility to admiration and open friendliness,

voice-overs of texts exchanged between the two are read like conversation by the characters,

adding more warmth and a dynamic approach to scenes others of the genre pass off on texts

shown idly scrolling on screen. Phone calls between the two are just as creatively portrayed as

in-person apparitions in one another’s space, using visual closeness to exhibit the intimacy of the

shared moment, something done easily enough in the book over hundreds of pages, but is much

trickier to accomplish on screen in minutes. The movie moves smoothly through rising action

from the conflict of character vs. self where Alex tries to decipher his sexuality with the help of

the Vice President’s daughter Nora (Rachel Hilson) through the character vs. character conflict

between himself and the insufferable but oh-so-handsome HRH Prince Henry, to character vs.

society as both face the increasingly distressing consequences of their secret relationship. The

majority of the movie is a series of clandestine meetings and startlingly vulnerable romance, with

the obligatory humorous “caught in the act” scene expected from secret romance tropes.

RW&RB has a diverse cast that brings a freshness to the screen belying just how

woefully under-representative Hollywood is and delivering an atmosphere of escapism that is

real-world adjacent. The script balances strained interpersonal interactions and emotionally

tumultuous relationships with carefully curated humor just as well as McQuiston does in her

book. One such line is delivered by the President’s Deputy Chief of Staff Zahra (Sarah Shahi), “I

can assure you it was one of the most depressing moments of my career. And I once saw Mitch
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McConnell eating a banana” (Red, White & Royal Blue 0:09:44). There were so many great one-

liners, in fact, that I challenge anyone to pinpoint one as their favorite.

The movie is not all emotionally stimulating conversation and well-choreographed

humor, however. While Taylor Zakhar Perez exercises a rare charisma and comedic timing on

screen, when it comes to the emotional scenes, it becomes clear that Nicholas Galitzine is the

more experienced actor, outshining Taylor in a way that suggests a successful career in dramatic

acting in his future. Director Matthew López does his best to give what is essentially a made-for-

TV movie with a matching budget, the feeling of a blockbuster, but in some scenes falls woefully

short. One such scene is a Whitehouse party with fewer attendees than a New Year’s house party

I attended in college and several budget sets that unfortunately pull you out of the movie at

times, as does some of the acting of the more inexperienced cast members.

My biggest gripe, however, does not lay in the movie itself, but in the R rating assigned

by the MPAA. There is some drinking and smoking but it is not gratuitous, and while many trysts

are suggested throughout, there is only one sex scene where the act is implied but no genitals are

shown. It is a publicly known secret that the MPAA disproportionately restricts ratings on movies

depicting non-hetero romance of any kind. One such movie is Love is Strange which also

suffered an R rating, despite depicting no sex, nudity, or violence (Child MPAA accused of

homophobia over R-rated sex-free gay romance). Such disproportionately homophobic

restrictions lump movies like Love is Strange and Red, White & Royal Blue together with

graphically violent movies like Sin City and Jersey Shore Massacre. A single similarity of

message between the romances and the action horrors could not be found with a high-powered

microscope, psilocybin, and an overactive imagination.

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As far as plot and conflict are concerned, the movie is rather realistic for a romcom. Alex

grapples with what his rapidly intensifying relationship with a foreign royal means for his

mother’s reelection and his potential political career. Henry reveals his history of familial

emotional abuse as his family encourages him to hide his sexuality from them and the public. It

is both reasonable and believable that a member of the British Royal family would not want or

be allowed to come out as gay and that the child of an American president would not want to

broadcast their bisexuality during an election year. Some reviewers’ opinions are that the movie

is not sufficiently dramatic or adequately emotionally volatile to be engaging in a meaningful

way. While it is a perfectly understandable stance to take on a movie in these action-packed

testosterone-fueled times, it is a disservice to assume that any form of entertainment or art that

does not evoke extreme feeling or an adrenaline rush holds any less value. I suggest that those

people watch Sin City or Jersey Shore Massacre instead. Some appreciate that when life becomes

hopeless, or emotionally turbulent, escape can be found for an hour or two in a movie that will

not cause undue stress and will provide a reliable laugh, as well as the warm fuzzies faithfully

supplied by romcom resolutions.

Overall, this movie should be added to your watch list if: you enjoy feel-good movies

with minimal emotional strain, want to see more casual on-screen representation of minorities,

appreciate better examples of homosexual relationships on screen, delight in clever scripts and

witty banter, or you love Stephen Fry. You should pass on this movie if: unseasoned acting is too

cringy for you, fake southern accents are torturous, you are under the age of 13, any movie that

isn’t adrenaline-inducing is boring to you, non-graphic gay romance makes you uncomfortable (I

suggest you do a lot of soul searching and perhaps some therapy if this is the case), or
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juxtapositions of what the world ideally could be put into stark contrast how broken our current

world is and that is upsetting for you.

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Works Cited

Child, Ben. “MPAA Accused of Homophobia over R-Rated Sex-Free Gay Romance.” The

Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 22 Aug. 2014,

www.theguardian.com/film/2014/aug/22/mpaa-love-is-strange-r-rated-gay-romance-no-

sex.

Jones, CT. “‘Red White & Royal Blue’ Is a Gay Romcom so Bad It Might Be Good.” Rolling

Stone, Rolling Stone, 10 Aug. 2023, www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-

reviews/red-white-and-royal-blue-review-prime-video-gay-romance-1234804922/.

Lawson, Richard. “‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ Is the Dumb Gay Romance of Your Dreams.”

Vanity Fair, Vanity Fair, 10 Aug. 2023, www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/08/red-

white-and-royal-blue-movie-review.

Lee, Benjamin. “Red, White and Royal Blue Review – Bland Gay Romance Opts for Beige.”

The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 Aug. 2023,

www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/11/red-white-and-royal-blue-review-amazon-gay-

romance.

Minow, Nell. “Red, White & Royal Blue Movie Review (2023): Roger Ebert.” Movie Review

(2023) | Roger Ebert, 11 Aug. 2023, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/red-white-and-royal-

blue-movie-review-2023.
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Nicholson, Amy. “‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ Review: Keep Calm and Pine On.” The New York

Times, The New York Times, 10 Aug. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/movies/red-

white-royal-blue-review.html.

Red, White & Royal Blue. Directed by Matthew López, Performances by Nicholas Galitzine,

Taylor Zakhar Perez, Uma Thurman, Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, and Stephen Fry,

Amazon Studios, 2023.