A month ago, Lainey was asking for a trailer for Red, White & Royal Blue, the adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s book about two dudes who fall in love…but happen to be America’s First Son and a British prince.
Well, the wait is over, because a trailer for Red, White & Royal Blue dropped yesterday, and it is…fine. It’s fine. It has some cute bits, Sarah Shahi is always fun, and I don’t know what accent Uma Thurman is doing but I am once again BEGGING actors not to do Southern accents unless they absolutely have to. And on their own, stars Nicholas Galitzine—the go-to rom-com man of the moment, between this, Purple Hearts (blech), and the upcoming The Idea of You with Anne Hathaway—and Taylor Zakhar Perez (Minx’s himbo firefighter, Shane) are giving excellent rom-com energy. But together? As a couple?
I am not overwhelmed by their chemistry. Like just three seconds of Joe Locke and Kit Connor in the teaser for Heartstopper season two is enough to show you why this show and those two actors playing young couple in love Charlie and Nick became a sensation. Or consider the trailer for Challengers, which, while not a comedy, still manages to sell the chemistry of the three leads. You know immediately Challengers is supposed to be a sexy movie because it LOOKS sexy. But I’m not really getting sensational or sexy vibes from Galitzine and Perez in the Royal Blue trailer, it’s giving more “blah” vibes.
I had to look up Royal Blue to find out it’s an R-rated film. Nothing about this trailer suggests it’s going to be a more grown-up kind of rom-com. This trailer is borderline Hallmark, except for a hint of acknowledgment that these two dudes have sex at some point. I am somewhat heartened by the R rating, though, because that means maybe this is just a sh-t trailer and the movie itself will be super horny and Galitzine and Perez will be a great screen couple. I hope so. We could use a good horny rom-com.
