Red, White & Royal Blue: Why Is The Film Rated R?

From its funny, charming first trailer to its stacked ensemble cast to the fact that it's a queer romantic comedy — an unfortunate rarity, even in 2023 — "Red, White & Royal Blue" could very well be the biggest surprise streaming hit of the summer when it drops on Amazon Video in August. That said, it boasts an R-rating... and if you're familiar with the story, you'll know why it probably isn't the right pick for younger audiences.

Based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Casey McQuiston, "Red, White & Royal Blue" asks fans to imagine this: what if a fictional Prince of England fell in love with an equally fictional First Son of the United States? The prince and son in question are Prince Henry and Alex Claremont-Diaz — played by Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez, respectively — enemies who, after causing an international confectionary incident at a royal wedding, are forced onto a press tour together where they tout their close, personal friendship. Of course, since this is a romantic comedy, that close, personal friendship turns real and then into something more.

So why is the movie rated R, and what can fans and newbies alike expect from "Red, White & Royal Blue?" Well, if the movie sticks to McQuiston's narrative, that's an easy answer: because the author's sex scenes are pretty intense.

When Henry and Alex fall for each other in McQuiston's book, they fall fast — and the scene where they finally hook up is pretty steamy. While still keeping things PG on this fine, family-friendly site, there are a lot of extremely detailed scenes about Henry and Alex getting down and dirty, though McQuiston is never gratuitous. Instead, they write the scenes delicately and with complete tenderness, giving readers a glimpse into Alex's head as he explores the boundaries of his newfound bisexuality with Henry, who, conversely, has known since childhood that he definitely prefers the company of men.

As the two christen hotel rooms across the world, an empty stable at a polo match, and the Red Room at the White House (dislodging a portrait of potential fellow bisexual Alexander Hamilton in the process), the love between them grows more passionate, which is exactly why the two ultimately decide that they can't simply tuck their relationship away and hide from the world. Henry has to contend with the monarchy, which isn't particularly supportive, and Alex, despite his supportive family, has to deal with parts of the American public who would put him down over who he chooses to love. This isn't "Fifty Shades of Grey" or anything, but since the film did earn an R-rating, so it seems like McQuiston's more graphic scenes have found their way onto the screen.

Thankfully, we're living in an era where major studios employ intimacy coordinators and let them take direction on set while actors are filming their most vulnerable scenes — and Galitzine and Zakhar Perez told GQ it was much more complicated than they anticipated. The pair, whose breezy real-life chemistry definitely gets our hopes up for Alex and Henry's on-screen connection, said that even though it was a wild experience, they felt supported. (Also, GQ references that "blow-up mattresses" were involved in the process, but don't get into details.) "There's so much choreography to sex...ual scenes," Zakhar Perez said while laughing. "It's a crazy thing to be intimate in that way with your friend," Galitzine added. "And we want people to fall in love with these characters, because their love has to be real."

"Our guards were down during the rehearsals," Zakhar Perez, revealed, saying that they felt comfortable enough in character to fully commit... although once cameras were off, they went back to being friends. "One of us would say something stupid, like, 'Get off me!'"

"There's a playful teasing that never veered into anything nasty, which was a lovely dynamic to be a part of," says Robbie Taylor Hunt, the film's intimacy coordinator. "But also they just treated each other like colleagues and co-creatives in a really nice, collaborative way."

All in all, "Red, White & Royal Blue" could be something more than a buzzy, heartwarming summer romantic comedy; it could become a groundbreaking entry into the queer cinematic canon. Yes, there have been popular movies like "Bros" and "Fire Island," and we're certainly not discounting those, but if fans of this book flock to the film adaptation as they did to the novel, "Red, White & Royal Blue" could be an enormous hit that depicts a loving, supportive, and healthy same-sex relationship. 

Yes, both Henry and Alex have to contend with homophobia and repeated attempts to keep them in the closet, but beyond the central pair, "Red, White & Royal Blue" presents a world where people are largely kind and thoughtful. Many of the supporting characters surrounding Alex and Henry are unapologetically and proudly queer and fluid in their sexuality, and the people closest to the pair, like Alex's mother, President Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman) or Henry's sister Princess Beatrice (Ellie Bamber), are completely supportive as well as ready to fight for their Alex and Henry's right to, well, love freely. Without getting into specific spoilers, Henry and Alex triumph in the end like any other rom-com couple, and in doing so, they make history. The movie could, too; as Alex says to Henry in an email, "History, huh?"

"Red, White & Royal Blue" hits Amazon Prime on August 11, 2023.