‘Red, White, And Royal Blue’ Goes From BookTok To The Big Screen

“Red, White, And Royal Blue”, a novel by Casey McQuiston, found a viral fanbase on a particular side of TikTok. BookTok, on which creators often share reviews of their favorite books or discuss their dream casting in movie versions of their favorite books, picked up the novel. The book tells the tale of the fictional bisexual son of the first female U.S. president falling in love with one of the British crown’s princes. 

The escapist gay rom-com captured the hearts of readers both for its writing and its LGBTQ+ representation. The novel was adapted into a film, which was released on Amazon Prime Video this week. The film is receiving praise from both readers and film buffs alike. The adaptation stars Taylor Zakhar Perez as the American Alex Claremont-Diaz and Nicholas Galitzine as British Prince Henry. Acclaimed actress Uma Thurman plays Diaz’s mother, the fictional president.

Perez appeared in the final installment of Netflix’s “The Kissing Booth” franchise, and Galitzine starred in another book-to-screen adaptation for the streamer, “Purple Hearts.”

Social Media Reactions

Many first time viewers admired the humorous quips and references to real-life political issues in both the U.S. and the U.K., of course, coupled with the love story. There were several humorous digital culture references as well, including PopCrave’s popular X account.

Others were simply happy to see queer joy depicted in the mainstream media.

Others applauded the positive bisexual representation surrounding Perez’ character. Bisexuality has a complex history of negative depictions in popular media, and seeing a bisexual character in a committed relationship gave some hope for further progress.

Elsewhere, some joked that the love stories in the also recently released “Heartstopper” coupled with this film were overwhelming.

Nicholas Galitzine is especially receiving praise for his acting range. The actor has notably portrayed both straight and gay characters in a number of different films.

The BookTok Verdict

Readers of the original book were overall pleased with the film adaptation. Many felt that the actors did a great job of bringing some of their favorite characters to life, and that the production largely stays true to its source material.

Many continue to applaud the story’s overall happy undertones, and Henry’s positive coming out experience.

The film currently sits at an 80% critical score and a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Prior to recent years, few romantic-comedy films included LGBTQ+ characters with fully fleshed out storylines. Some of the genres most famous films, “When Harry Met Sally”, “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “10 Things I Hate About You”, and “How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days”, all center around straight couples’ narratives, occasionally including queer supporting characters.

The film is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, sitting at the top spot of the biggest releases on the streamer this week.

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