Movie review: 'Red, White & Royal Blue' a sweet, poignant romance

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Red, White & Royal Blue, on Prime Video on Friday, begins as a cute romantic comedy with a political twist. It ends up a poignant portrayal of coming out and tolerance.

Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar-Perez) is the son of U.S. President Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman). Alex attends the royal wedding of Prince Philip (Thomas Flynn), but hates Philip's younger brother, Henry (Nicholas Galitzine).

Henry and Alex's rivalry causes an overly cutesy scene at the wedding that is somehow so disastrous it jeopardizes a trade deal with England. Spilled wedding cakes have consequences, folks.

So, President Claremont orders Alex to mend fences with Henry for political purposes, but they actually find they could be friends, and more. Alex and Henry fall in love, but neither are out as gay and bisexual, respectively.

Bickering enemies falling in love is the foundation of most romantic-comedies. Here, the bickering is the weakest part of the film, as they trade barbs about Henry's height and Alex's shoes. Fortunately, it moves beyond that within 20 minutes.

The friendship Alex and Henry form is touching as they text each other for months. The film portrays their texts as a physical slumber party, as the actors lie in bed together when in reality they are just exchanging texts or talking on speaker phones.

It's New Year's Eve when Henry realizes he's in love and makes a move. At that point, Alex realizes he welcomes Henry's affection. There are some cute moments as Alex and Henry sneak around political galas and on the campaign trail.

Their love scene is Alex's first time with another man and it's shown tastefully, but vividly enough to respect LGBTQ love on screen.

Alex and Henry would be hiding their romance even if they weren't both closeted. The political component is 50% of their concern.

These are two characters who not only aren't ready to be out, but they're both famous, so they have to contend with public scrutiny and potentially being used for political purposes.

And, for all the privilege they may have as a Royal and an American socialite, they are young guys figuring things out.

The second half of the movie addresses this dilemma in full. It is much more serious, but still vital to the romance part of romantic-comedy.

Alex is also trying to get involved with his mother's re-election campaign. His plans for registering more voters and courting the young vote in Texas are vague, but at least feel like a plausible strategy.

As a politician from Texas, Thurman's Texas accent is jarring. She is a good mom though, prioritizing her son over her campaign.

Political jokes are also weak. One-liners about Mitch McConnell and Brexit feel like dumbed down Veep. Fortunately, the film only attempts them sporadically.

But, the heart of Red, White & Royal Blue is sound. It's encouraging to watch people stand up for their love, and there's fun to be had along the way.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.