Amazon Prime: “Red, White, and Royal Blue”

Let’s suppose it was discovered that the son of the US president was having a clandestine romantic relationship with Prince Harry. Far-fetched, you say? Sure. Outrageous? By all means. Material for a gay rom-com? Damn straight (pun intended).

In Matthew Lopez’s “Red White and Royal Blue” (Amazon Prime), Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the First Son of the first woman president (Uma Thurman) attends the royal wedding of Philip, HRH the Prince of Wales (Thomas Flynn) as the US representative. At the reception, he bumps into Philip’s younger brother Henry (Nicholas Hazeltine), with whom he has history—and not a pleasant one. Seems like they got off on the wrong foot at an earlier meeting, and they still dislike each other. The boys get into a minor kerfuffle, and in the process knock over the $75,000 wedding cake. Progress on a treaty between the US and the UK grinds to a halt.

Alex and Henry meet a few weeks later as part

of a make-nice publicity campaign. They iron out their differences and actually strike up a friendship. A few months later, Harry attends Alex’s infamous NYE party at which the friendship develops into something more. As in a steamy romance. Complete with s-e-x.

A series of rendez-vous in Paris, London, and Texas follow. The guys get more and more serious, and begin using the “L” word (aka love). But reality bites: Alex is busy working on his mother’s re-election campaign, while Henry wonders if he can give himself up to Alex when he’s already betrothed to a whole country. Can this bromance be saved?

Funny lines, mixed in with absurd plot twists, and often insufferable, eye-rolling (but unbearably romantic) dialogue make this a must-watch for a certain crowd. Speaking of must-watch, that certain crowd should take note of Taylor Zakhar Perez as the First Son who has the dreamiest eyes I’ve seen since Gene Tierney’s in “Laura”.

Written and directed by Matthew Lopez (“The Inheritance” and “Some Like It Hot” on Broadway), RW&RB gives new meaning to the “special relationship” between the US and Great Britain. I am not sure this is what Churchill and Roosevelt had in mind at all. But who cares? They’re gone and you’re not. Go to!

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