Book vs Screen

Red, White & Royal Blue Book vs Movie

Red, White & Royal Blue Book vs Movie

Hi everyone! This week, by request, I am comparing the Red, White & Royal Blue book to the movie that just came out this month on Amazon Prime Video! This post contains spoilers for both the book and the movie, so read on with caution. Check out my July Mini Review post for my mini-review of the book!

Synopsis: Alex Claremont-Diaz is the First Son of the United States with a longtime nemesis, Prince Henry of Wales. When a confrontation between them at a royal wedding comes to light in the tabloids they must fake a friendship to keep the peace. However, as Alex spends more time with Henry he realizes that his hatred of him was love in disguise. They must decide if love is worth everything and how to fit into history. Incredibly swoon-worthy and charming with some spice!

What I Liked

Any time a book gets adapted to the screen I’m always nervous, but also very excited! I always love seeing books I enjoyed come to life, but most times I end up saying the book was better. Anyways, back to Red, White & Royal Blue. Overall I really enjoyed the movie, I thought it was very cute, but only when I was not comparing it to the book. I’ll get into the comparisons below, but for now, I’m going to talk about what I enjoyed!

  • I loved watching Alex and Henry’s relationship come to life
  • Even though June wasn’t in the movie, I liked how Alex and Nora’s relationship was portrayed
  • Cake Gate was hilarious
  • The whole interview scene when they have to pretend to like each other – specifically “White, Blonde, and British”
  • Even though Alex was shorter in the book, but the “same” height in the movie, I loved the “I’m taller” banter between Alex and Henry
  • When Zahra said “Your royal highness” when leaving the hotel room after catching Alex and Henry together – this line wasn’t in the book and I felt it really fit
  • Uma Thuman was a fantastic choice for President Claremont
  • How the texting and call scenes were filmed
  • The whole time I was reading the book I imagined Alex’s house key as a cool vintage key, so it made me laugh when I realized it was just a normal key the whole time

The Book

The Movie

  1. Alex’s parents are divorced and Leo is his step-father
  2. Alex has a sister June
  3. Rafael Luna is a U.S. Senator and joins the Richards campaign then helps figure out who leaked the emails
  4. Miguel does not exist, but there was a journalist who talked with June
  5. Jeffery Richards, the other presidential candidate and his campaign team leaked Alex and Henry’s emails
  6. Alex is shorter than Henry
  7. Alex reaches out to a friend from high school that he used to hook up with, which helped him figure out his sexuality
  8. Queen Mary is Henry’s grandmother
  9. The Cornettos scene where their friendship starts
  1. Alex’s parents are still together
  2. Alex is an only child
  3. Rafael Luna does not exist
  4. Miguel is a new character who is a journalist that used to hook up with Alex
  5. It is implied that Miguel leaks their emails, not Jeffery Richards and his campaign team
  6. They are the “same” height
  7. He doesn’t reach out to his friend from high school
  8. King James lll replaced Queen Mary
  9. This scene was cut from the movie, but released as a deleted scene

Overall Thoughts

My thought is that the movie is loosely based on the book. I do have to say as I say with most book to screen adaptations that the book was better. I had just re-read the book in July, so I think because it was so fresh in my mind I was able to compare it easily to the movie. However, I am excited to re-watch the movie when the book isn’t as fresh in my mind, so I can enjoy the movie as is.

I do wish this could have been made into a series because I feel there were a lot of pivotal points from the book that didn’t make it into the movie. One of them is a lot of smaller characters had to be cut because there wasn’t time to fully develop them. Although, I still don’t understand why June was cut, but moving past that.

I would give this movie a solid 8/10 stars when I’m not comparing it to the book. Now, when comparing it I would probably say a 6/10 stars. I just feel there were a lot of changes that made the overall story line different than the book. That being said I do 100% recommend watching the movie, I know it will be one I re-watch multiple times!

I hope you enjoyed my first book vs. movie post! I hope to write more in the future. Give me a follow on Instagram or Facebook to stay updated about when I post!

Take care and stay safe,

Renée