Deborah Ross

Modest fun: Red, White & Royal Blue reviewed

This LGBT rom-com is like being hit round the head with a photo-love story from Jackie magazine

Taylor Zakhar Perez (Alex Claremont-Diaz) and Nicholas Galitzine (Prince Henry) in Red, White & Royal Blue. Credit: Jonathan Prime 
issue 12 August 2023

Red, White & Royal Blue is a rom-com based on the LGBT bestselling novel by Casey McQuiston. Nope, me neither, but the New York Times reviewed it as ‘a brilliant, wonderful book’ and on Amazon UK it has garnered nearly 44,000 reviews, with an average of 4.5 stars, so let’s not be hasty. The romance here is between ‘America’s First Son and the Prince of Wales’, says the blurb, which does sound juicy, and it’s not a YA (Young Adult) novel but an NA (New Adult) one, apparently, aimed at a slightly older audience. I did consider reading it so that I could say this isn’t as good as the book, as is standard in these instances, but then realised that as an OA (Old Adult) life is too (frighteningly) short and I couldn’t be bothered. But my best guess? Not as good as the book.

On one occasion, to the sound of unzipping, we cut to Nelson’s Column illuminated at night

Directed by Matthew Lopez, who co-wrote the screenplay with McQuiston, the film wants, I think, to be a Bridgerton-type affair, with its voice-over (Jemma Redgrave) and snappy pace.

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