“Red, White & Royal Blue” is the streaming summer rom-com I’ve been craving. A sexy prince! A sexy First Son! Sexy chemistry! It’s all very sexy and very hopeful and very full of the kind of political wish fulfillment that feels oh so good as we stare ahead at our next presidential election cycle. I wouldn’t call this movie a Great Film but I would call it a whole lot of fun if you can let go and just enjoy the ride.

Based off of NYTimes bestselling author Casey McQuiston’s debut novel of the same name, “Red, White & Royal Blue” follows the enemies-to-lovers romance of Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), son of the United States’ first female president (Uma Thurman, doing her best Texan accent), and Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), the British royal family’s “spare.”

When the movie begins, these two hate each other. Henry is buttoned up, controlled, and duty bound. Alex is reckless, impulsive, and idealistic. After they get into an altercation at Henry’s brother’s royal wedding, they end up under a pile of multi-multi-multi-tier cake, and on the cover of every tabloid on either side of the pond. In an effort to divert a diplomatic disaster, the two are pushed together by their respective governments, and as they get to know each other, a friendship forms and then blossoms into something much more romantic.

It’s certainly a significantly pared down version of McQuiston’s original story, and the harder edges and complex subplots have been sanded down to focus on the swoony love at the movie’s center. And yet there are things about “Red, White & Royal Blue” that feel like a triumph. Put simply, it’s a rom-com about queer men that operates under the same comforting tropes and cliches that so many straight rom-coms do. (If you’re concerned that a romantic comedy feels “predictable” you’re missing the point of the genre.) It also doesn’t shy away from depicting gay sex, as both hot and tender — though it’s R-rating feels unearned — and Perez and Galatzine have the chemistry to effectively sell the central relationship to viewers. (Of course not everything worked. I still have so many questions about the jilted journalist / ex-lover of Alex’s that becomes the movie’s de facto villain, a character created for the movie.)

My wonderful friend Justin Adams (@justintakesthebach) joined me for this episode, to discuss the highs and lows of this delectable summer rom-com — and President Uma Thurman. Hope you enjoy! Xo

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