Taylor Zakhar Perez, left, and Nicholas Galitzine in ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ Red, White & Royal Blue film review — an out-there spin on fairytale romance on twitter (opens in a new window) Red, White & Royal Blue film review — an out-there spin on fairytale romance on facebook (opens in a new window) Red, White & Royal Blue film review — an out-there spin on fairytale romance on linkedin (opens in a new window) Save current progress 0% Leslie Felperin YESTERDAY 0 Print this page Receive free Film updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Film news every morning. There’s been a recent spate of romcoms featuring queer protagonists instead of heterosexual couples: Bros, Fire Island, Happiest Season and so forth. Red, White & Royal Blue is Amazon Studios’ contribution to the genre. Based on a bestselling novel by American author Casey McQuiston and directed by Matthew López, it offers an out-there spin on fairytale romance. What if the absurdly good-looking bisexual son of the US president and a still closeted but similarly good-looking British prince fell in love? Amazingly, that core romantic concept feels comparatively realistic, given that earlier in the story everyone is implausibly fretting about the diplomatic and trade repercussions of Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) accidentally knocking presidential progeny Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) into a wedding cake. The two men — who, in classic romcom fashion, clash at first — are compelled to make a show of friendship to smooth over the incident. Before you know it, joint photo ops and hospital visits generate genuine affection; kisses at New Year’s Eve lead to sex and brunch. Naturally, there are a few impediments, like a snooping press and disapproving royal family members. But at least Alex finds his Mexican father (Clifton Collins Jr) and president mom (Uma Thurman) supportive of his life choices — and isn’t it grim that a female commander-in-chief and a Latino first gentleman seem almost as fairytale as anything else in this movie? From left, Sarah Shahi, Taylor Zakhar Perez and Uma Thurman Spoiler alert: everyone gets a happy ending, more or less, even the uptight monarch (none other than Stephen Fry). The script evenly distributes the sassy quips between the Brits and Yanks so as to avoid any diplomatic ill will. Some of the lines are fairly funny, like calling someone as gay as “the first 50 rows at a Lady Gaga concert”, but they never dilute a sugary-sweet confection. It’ll leave many viewers feeling as if they’d been covered in marzipan, cake and royal icing.