When Casey McQuiston’s novel Red, White & Royal Blue hit bookstores in 2019, to say that it was a sensation among book lovers would be an understatement. In addition to being a New York Times bestseller, the novel is praised for capitalizing on the enemies-to-lovers story (when does a romance book not follow that trope these days?) and, most of all, its complex depiction of queer characters and love. The question then became not if this book would ever be adapted but when.

The time has come with Amazon Studio’s straight-to-streaming adaptation of McQuiston’s story. Directed by playwright and screenwriter Matthew Lopez, Red, White & Royal Blue follows two young men who come from powerful families: immigrant Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) is the son of Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman), the first female U.S. president and Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) comes from a long-rein of British royalty. As the United States and the United Kingdom try to repair their strained relationship ahead of an upcoming presidential election, Alex and Henry find themselves growing closer and closer together. However, being in the public’s eye makes coming out with their relationship increasingly difficult.

As somebody who has wanted to read the book for years but hasn’t gotten to it (fun fact: it’s currently sitting on my shelf right next to me), watching this adaptation was my first impression of this story. And it’s clear right off the bat that Lopez’s take doesn’t fail to shy away from being cheesy, predictable, and made to look as glossy as possible.

The flaws here are on full display: the undercooked political backdrop, a narrative that takes shortcuts for the sake of simplicity, mostly boring cinematography, and wonky CGI shots that feel like they were rushed into fruition. If you take the sincere cheesiness as it is, though, there’s much to enjoy here. The authentic, intimate relationship that forms between Alex and Henry makes for compelling drama and is where the story connects with the viewer on a deeper level.

For Alex, his dream rests in running for office one day and helping everyday people. For Henry, being born into royalty has made him feel imprisoned and sheltered from being his true gay self. While Henry’s story is left on the sidelines compared to Alex’s arc, the story shines most when audiences get glimpses into the private, honest conversations the leads have together. The sex scenes are also refreshing and made with a lot of care, especially in exploring how both characters are discovering parts of themselves — and each other — for the very first time.

The chemistry between the leads is infectious and always on-point, making it undeniable to any audience member that Alex and Henry are meant to be together. Watching them grow and learn from each other is inspiring and beautiful to watch, thanks to the fantastic lead performances from Zakhar Perez and Galitzine. Unfortunately, the same can not be said about Thurman’s over-acted, completely unbelievable, and embarrassing Texas accent. As a result, any heart-to-heart scenes between Ellen and Alex lose a sense of emotional catharsis.

Red, White & Royal Blue is not a film trying to redefine the queer rom-com or the rom-com genre at large. The emotions are in your face — sometimes to a fault — but Lopez and co-writer Ted Malawer bring such a wholehearted approach that I found myself getting wrapped up in it anyway. Take it as a guilty pleasure if you’d like, but this film brings a lot of charm with two terrific performances at the forefront. I’ll take 50 more cheesy queer rom-coms like this, as long as they’re this earnest and well-intentioned.

Review Courtesy of Matt Minton

Feature Image via Amazon Studios and Variety