Turning a book into a movie isn’t about recreating each chapter and line of dialogue. If that were the case, they’d be five hours long, and while most readers would love a five-hour-long rendition of their favorite book, that’s not really the point. Movie adaptations are just that: adaptations. They retell stories based on the director’s vision and bring in a new audience to the theater – one that isn’t limited to the original fans. I mean, I doubt half of Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” box office came from people who read the book first.
“Red, White & Royal Blue” was one of the most anticipated book-to-movie adaptations of this year. Casey McQuinston’s debut novel of the same name is a contemporary queer romance about FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz and HRH Prince Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor. (Fun Fact: the novel is rumored to have originated as a fanfic of the 2010 film “The Social Network”). As a fan of the book, I was personally excited to see how they’d bring “Red, White & Royal Blue” to the screen. I was mainly focused on the casting choices, and I have to say, the casting director was spot on. Taylor Zakhar Perez was the perfect Alex; he was charismatic and sweet, and don’t forget gorgeous.
I have to admit, after seeing him in “Purple Hearts”, I was a bit weary of Nicholas Galitzine playing Prince Henry, but he was phenomenal. I think he nailed every single emotional scene, and he and Taylor Zakhar Perez had great chemistry.
And casting Uma Thurman as President Claremont was marvelous. She was awesome. Nothing more to say there.
Acclamation aside, I have to address the elephant in the room: all the sex scenes. Now, I don’t mind sex scenes –I think they show both the actors’ chemistry on screen and the characters’ growing physical and emotional intimacy. However, it seemed as though Alex and Prince Henry’s relationship was purely physical. The book isn’t free of sex scenes; in fact, every single one in the movie was described in the book. The difference, though, was we got more romance in the book: more fluff.
What is fluff? Fluff describes the giddy and cheesy non-sexual romance in a relationship, like hands brushing against each other, secret looks from across the room—anything that builds romance. Fluff makes you say, oh yeah, they’re sooo in love. There wasn’t any of that in the movie. I mean, it completely bypassed the enemies step in their enemies-to-lovers romance. Their entire relationship felt rushed and more about lust than love.
However, my main critique of the movie was how they portrayed the female characters. Where were they?
First of all, they completely removed June, Alex’s older sister. They had such a sweet and close relationship, and she helped him understand his emotions and was his rock during the ups and downs of his relationship with Prince Henry. Her significant scenes were given to Nora, Alex and June’s best friend and granddaughter of the VP. But, other than a handful of scenes in the beginning, she faded into the background. We don’t see her newfound friendship with the prince or even her old one with Alex.
Then, Zahra’s character was reduced to a caricature of US politics. She’s used as basically comedic relief, following Alex around and being exaggeratedly stressed.
Like June, both Amy and Princess Bea’s storylines are gone. Their presence in the film is reduced to one or two scenes. We don’t see any of Amy and Alex’s friendship, their witty conversations, and her role in Alex and Prince Henry’s relationship. She’s his bodyguard and we barely see her at all. Similarly, Princess Bea is the only family member who knows of their relationship, and she’s the only one Prince Henry fully trusts, so why is she nowhere to be seen? And personally, I thought her storyline is so relevant to Prince Henry’s fears: he saw how she was isolated when she didn’t fit the “traditional” image their family was supposed to portray.
“Red, White & Royal Blue”, the film, felt like it was made for people who already read the book and know and love the characters. It doesn’t captivate a new audience. It doesn’t tell the whole story but rather relies on the viewer’s existing knowledge of the story.
Although I think the movie missed a lot of key elements from the book, it’s still a good movie. I enjoyed watching it, and I’d definitely watch it again. Maybe as background noise, but I’d still watch it.