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RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE MOVIE REVIEW
Romantic comedies tend to have a pretty pat formula. They epitomize lighthearted love stories filled with charming predictability. These films thrive on familiar tropes—meet-cutes, quirky protagonists, and inevitable misunderstandings that tear the lovers apart. There are comedic sidekicks or best friends who provide comic relief and sage advice. There is the “almost-kiss” and often a deceptive secret. A grand romantic gesture culminates in a joyous reunion. Iconic settings like coffee shops and bustling cities or a race through the airport create a cozy atmosphere. You’re sure to have witty banter, a formulaic journey of self-discovery, and a happily-ever-after finale. Yep, it’s a tried and true formula for a genre. And if you love lovely love films about love, rom-coms give you escapism, hope, and a comforting reminder that love conquers all. With Red, White, and Royal Blue, you can pretty much set your watch to the tropes. Based on the Casey McQuiston Novel of the same name, this story focuses on Alex Claremont-Diaz, the First Son of the president of the United States and his rivalry with the young prince, Henry. After causing a major uproar at the older Prince’s brother’s wedding, the two are forced to avoid a national incident by up-playing their non-existent friendship with a goodwill visit to the UK. Their rivalry soon turns into a forced friendship and then blossoms into something even more. The two try to keep their relationship a secret despite their highly public lives amid his mother’s re-election campaign as the first female President. Melina, Lewayne, and T.C. fill out their ballots for this film and decide whether or not it’ll be voted into the rom-com Hall of Fame.
DIRECTED BY: Matthew Lopez
STARRING: Taylor Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Clifton Collins Jr., Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, Stephen Fry, Uma Thurman, Ellie Bamber, Thomas Flynn, Malcolm Atobrah, Akshay Khanna Sharon D. Clarke, Aneesh Sheth, Juan Castano
YOUR REVIEWERS
T.C. De Witt (Screener Squad)
T.C. De Witt is a multi-awarded writer/director originally from Wisconsin and now based in Los Angeles. His life has been devoted to the arts since he was a child. He’s been a stage performer, playwright, stand-up comic, film and television actor, radio DJ, podcaster published author, recorded musician, and comic writer/illustrator. He is now a professional screenwriter and has been thriving for the past decade, regularly offering his talents to production studios in LA, Chicago, Milwaukee, and internationally in Sydney and Poland. He’s provided content for Amazon Prime, Netflix, and several YouTube partners. His films have screened internationally, and his stageplays have been performed across the country. In the last ten years, he has directed 57 films, 23 episodes of his series The One Minute Rewatch, 300+ episodes of podcasts, and his multi-award-winning short film Screen: Righter screened at the Festival de Cannes in 2016. He has released two feature films, The Princess Knight and A Christmas Sunset. He thrives on collaboration and the thrill of sharing stories in all forms.
Melina Eames (Screener Squad)
Melina first discovered that she carried the nerd gene at the tender age of four following her exposure to a little film called A New Hope. In the twenty-some years that followed, Melina continued to grow into her geek identity through the discovery of Batman, Mst3k, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and The Mandalorian. But perhaps her most significant discovery came at the age of fourteen when a night of YouTube mining led her to the review site of Spill.com. Melina became a devoted follower whose fandom did not end with the site’s demise. By then, it had worked its dark magic and left her with a love and appreciation for film criticism that she has yet to shrug.
Lewayne White (Screener Squad)
Lewayne’s earliest memories are of watching movies and reading comics, which instilled in him a sense of wonder, a vivid imagination, and unrealistic expectations. It also means he spends a lot of time watching movies, writing scripts for them, and trying to get them made. He lives in the middle of middle America after landing there as a child, and has remained there mainly because he hates packing.
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