Q Toon: It's Rom-Complicated

Red, White, and Royal Blue is a movie adaptation of a book by Casey McQuiston streaming this month on amazon Prime. The romantic comedy stars Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galatzine as, respectively, the son of an American President and the second-in-line to the British throne, who initially can't stand each other. But they are thrown together by the protocol / damage control teams of the White House and Buckingham Palace after they accidentally destroy the seven-meter-tall cake at the wedding of Prince Henry's older brother.

And, of course, they end up falling in love with each other.

I haven't read the book, but I've seen the movie, and oodles of social media click-bait about it. LGBTQ media seem to be much more impressed with it than any straight media I've read. The thing LGBTQ media seem most impressed by, however, is that First Son Alex and Prince Henry are shown making out in the missionary position, which I guess straight people didn't know was a thing before. (The scene earned RW&RB an R rating, even though it's much tamer than much of what you'll see in heterosexual rom-coms. No butts or genitalia. Or grunting and groaning, for that matter.)

I'm not giving away the plot with that, by the way. A big difference between this rom-com and the standard heterosexual ones is that it's less about Will They Or Won't They than it is about Wait Till This Gets Out.

As with any rom-com, a certain suspension of belief is required. It's hard to imagine how the two could carry on their intercontinental love affair as long as they do without it showing up in the British tabloids. And a Democratic President —even one from Texas— letting her son convince her reelection team to focus on the Lone Star State to the apparent exclusion of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and several other swing states? Really?

And some things in the film are overly precious. Not only is the American President a woman, so is the British Prime Minister, who is Black and Caribbean to boot. Also, there is always someone with a Pride Flag in the paltry crowds at Alex's campaign appearances, even before he comes out as bisexual to his parents. I suppose that suggests that 10% of voters just have very good gaydar.

Naturally, fans are hoping for a sequel; the entertainment industry being what it is, if the movie is deemed successful, amazon won't leave well enough alone. In that case, a sequel about impeachment proceedings might not be any more far-fetched than anything in the original.

In any case, I would fully expect the sequel to include yet another wedding cake disaster.