‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ Review: Two Studly Scions Attract in Affirmational Queer Rom-Com
Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic The “prince of England’s hearts” falls for the American president’s son (or is it the other way around?) in “Red, White & Royal Blue,” an effervescent gay rom-com that might be easily dismissed as a mere trifle, were it not for the still-historic novelty of its existence.
Arriving less than a year after “Bros,” director Matthew López’s Amazon-backed, R-rated lark goes even further to normalize queer romance on-screen, taking a classic “chick flick” premise — the kind once reserved for Mandy Moore and Amanda Bynes movies, à la “Chasing Liberty” or “What a Girl Wants” — and recasting it with dudes.
Are gay men the target audience? No question, although “Red, White & Royal Blue” (adapted from the book by Casey McQuiston) reminded me more of that surprising subsection of manga known as “yaoi” — or “boys’ love” comics — marketed primarily to young female readers.
These stories, which typically feature slender, slightly androgynous male characters (their distinguishing bits censored by Japanese law) in swoony and often explicitly lustful self-discovery, are fantasy fodder for far more than just representation-seeking queer kids.
