Red White and Royal Blue: Is the Movie Based On the Book Worth Seeing? Parent Guide and Rating!
Red White and Royal Blue is one of the most anticipated book adaptations of the year. The film is based on the novel by Casey McQuinston, which tells the story of a British prince and the son of the president of the United States, who start as enemies, but gradually develop a friendship that turns into something more intense and special. Very much in the style of Heartstopper, from Netflix, the series shows an unexpected relationship, where the protagonists must discover what they want, while they explore their feelings while dealing with a few responsibilities and pressures related to the lives they live.
Red White and Royal Blue have drama, romance, and an R rating, which seems to be an attempt to censor a love story with elements that conservatives don’t think are “fit” for everyone (because it seems that sex and relationships of the couple are “forbidden” and scandalous topics for many). “This is one of those books that, when you’re not reading it, you can’t stop thinking about the characters and you wonder what they’re doing, it rarely happens, but it’s incredible and that’s why I wanted to make the movie, to stay with them a little more,” says director Matthew Lopez.
Red White and Royal Blue: A Story that Went Viral on TikTok
Before being a movie, Red White and Royal Blue was a book that became a viral hit on TikTok, where it drew attention not only for its love story but also because it features a character with Mexican roots, who was a detail that won over the Latino community. “I only knew that it was a book that I loved, I didn’t know that it was so loved, because I follow social networks a lot, but I didn’t understand how popular it was until I was announced as a director, at that point I had already been working on it for a year. the movie, so I decided to go ahead with it,” says Lopez.
The story begins when Prince Henry of England and Alex Clermont-Diaz, the son of the president of the United States, are involved in a conflict that could affect diplomatic relations between the two countries, so they must pretend that they are great friends to avoid a scandal. The two start out hating each other a bit, but little by little they discover that they have more in common than they thought, and eventually, there is a romance between them, but it is something they must keep secret because their parents meet. going through crucial moments, including possible re-election for the presidency.
“Henry and Alex, there is something so charming and unexpected about them. I read the book before it was a sensation, so I read it without knowing what it would become and I fell in love with these two people, they are very important to me as people and as a couple, and for me that is very powerful. Also, as a Latino and queer man, I understood Alex, I had never seen a character like him in a book and I can’t remember seeing someone like him in a movie, so I wanted to bring them to life,” Lopez says. about what makes this story so endearing.
A Cast of Promising Actors
The characters in the book are endearing and well-loved, so it was extremely important to find the right people to play them. The film features Nicholas Galitzin as Prince Henry, and we saw him before in Purple Hearts and the Cinderella movie with Camila Cabello. The President of the United States is played by the legendary Uma Thurman, from Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, and Taylor Zakhar Perez, from The Kissing Booth 2 and the series Minx (about the creation of a pornographic magazine for women). In addition, the film also features Ellie Bamber, who appeared in the Willow series and Nocturnal Animals.
“We spent months just trying to find Alex and Henry, I think I started watching audition tapes in December 2021 and we didn’t make up our minds until April 2022, so it was a 5-month process where we saw hundreds of people, but after Nick and Taylor showed up and I quickly understood that the two of them were the right ones, I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing this, plus their chemistry was perfect. I was lucky and the smartest thing I did was to punish them because they were so connected to their characters and each other”, says the director about the film’s protagonists.
Regarding the character of Uma Thurman, Lopez says that “Uma was a case where I couldn’t imagine someone else in this role. She was at the top of the list of actors we wanted for the role, so we decided to approach her to see what she had to say, knowing that she could say no. But we showed her the script, and she was excited to show this character, so we got lucky with that, the only problem I have with her in the movie is that she’s so good as President that I’m afraid she’s going to quit acting and go away. to politics.”
Romance and Drama
Red White and Royal Blue is a romantic story, where everything is given more realistically. It is a story about the search for human connections, about the difficulty of discovering one’s own identity and finding a place in the world, and someone to share everything with. But it’s also fun, laid-back, and siding with the fact that the lives of the rich and powerful always draw attention and curiosity. There is a bit of a branch within everything since the situation is somewhat complicated for all the protagonists, but in the end, it is one of those stories that leave you with a good taste in your mouth, and it lifts your spirits.
Why Was the Movie Censored?
The film received an R Rating, which means that it is for adults only and that it is too strict for a film like this, for what seems to be an attempt to censor a story where the main couple is LGBT.
“Well, I’m not oblivious to the fact that there are a lot of movies that are PG-13 where the relationship is between a man and a woman, I also think it’s something bigger than just the sexuality of the characters, I think, if I’m honest, the NPAA is wrong when it comes to prioritizing violence over sex. Very violent movies are rated PG-13 and I would rather my kids see scenes about sexuality than violence, so I think the priorities are wrong. That said, they never asked me to change anything to be PG-13, they gave me a list of things we could do, but we decided to stick with our R rating, it’s the movie I wanted to make, and no one was interested in changing it, and I’m proud of that,” says Lopez.
