Approaching this as one of the millions who was swept up in author Casey McQuiston’s vibrant world of American politics, British snobbery, and the unlikely but incredibly charming queer romance during the early days of the pandemic, I’m relieved to report playwright Matthew López’s adaptation of Red, White & Royal Blue hits about every note perfectly. Every important bit of laughter, every bit of emotion and each grand romantic gesture is transferred beautifully to the medium of film. My only problem, a good problem to have, to be fair, is that it left me wanting more.

Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar-Perez) is son of the first female President of the United States Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman). He’s young, smart, and very charming in that classic all-American way. On a mandated trip to London, he has a very public and very humiliating altercation with the reserved, outwardly snooty and charming in the polar opposite way Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine). In the interest of damage control, the President devises a plan to put the two bickering public figures together and make them look like best friends in the public eye. As the two learn more about each other, a passionate romance neither of them could have expected begins to blossom, but of course this complicates international relations even further.

In adapting a 400-something page novel, I am aware that certain elements are going to be streamlined and cut. And the thought that this should just be a miniseries was on my mind a lot throughout this two-hour film that flies by and feels like it’s about 27 minutes long. However, stripped down to the essentials, Red White & Royal Blue feels like the kind of frothy, delightful, sexy and emotionally satisfying romantic comedy Hollywood has forgotten how to make this well. 

This is the feature directorial debut of Tony-winning playwright Matthew López, co-written with Ted Malawer. As a filmmaker, López has his work cut out for him in adapting this novel so many know and love, but also finding a way to make it cinematic and engaging as a two-hour film. López has stated the original cut of Red, White & Royal Blue is somewhere over three hours long. As a fan of this source material and largely a fan of the film adaptation we’ve been given, I would love to see that longer version. But I would also be able to live with it if we never do. The script is tight, snappy and zippy and the mood is reminiscent of the kind of Nora Ephron/Richard Curtis romantic comedy that is sadly very uncommon in today’s filmmaking landscape.

The film works so well solely because of the crackerjack fireworks chemistry between leads Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine. Both are insanely charismatic and stunning and find interesting ways to bring out unexpected elements in the others’ performances. Perez nails the all-American heartthrob with a heart of gold persona, but also is wildly overqualified at playing the emotional journey this character must navigate. Galitzine, as Perez’ polar opposite personality, also totally sells the conflict of a character who simply cannot live a fulfilling life if he accepts the life determined for him at birth. The two lead actors are so good together you kind of forgive the movie for forgetting about most of the supporting cast.

Of the supporting cast, Uma Thurman with a deranged Texas accent and Sarah Shahi as her hilariously frazzled and overworked chief of staff are standouts. Rachel Hilson (playing a role similar to the one she played in Hulu’s Love, Victor) as the daughter of the vice president and Alex’s main confidante, gets some nice moments. And yet, she’s kind of an amalgamation of several characters in the book. Alex’s sister June is gone. Henry’s sister Bea is still around but she appears in maybe two scenes. Alex’s parents are divorced in the novel and they don’t appear to be in the film. And the security team of the White House is definitely smaller than it was in the novel.

Is any of this a problem? Not really. However, it does support my opinion that this should be a longer film, or a miniseries. Especially considering this was conceived, filmed and designed to be on a streaming service, I don’t see why there’s a need to keep this film under two hours long. In a world where every runtime is bloated and everything is overdone, it is incredibly rare that my complaint is a film being too short.

However, perhaps the short running time is all by design. Red, White & Royal Blue is streamlined enough that it should have wide appeal, and ultimately there is so much to love here, that this is pretty close to irresistible. Is this breaking new ground? Absolutely not, but I don’t think that’s a problem. It’s unapologetically earnest and formulaic. But for a big, sweeping romantic comedy to center around a queer couple is something audiences don’t see enough, and I think the adherence to formula and genre tropes ultimately is more of a feature than a bug in this case. It feels like a story you’ve seen a hundred times before, this time told in a way that makes it feel alive and subversive.

In the end, I sat on my couch on a Thursday night and cried, laughed, squealed and screamed, and that’s exactly what I wanted this movie to do. Would I have liked to have seen this on a big screen with an audience that was also loving every minute? Of course. But this plays remarkably well at home. The incredible chemistry between the two lead actors, a zany, hilarious and heart-wrenching script and sensitive direction drives this thing well across the finish line. Red, White & Royal Blue is a charming, frothy, deliriously romantic good time and I can’t wait to see it again.