The Rom Com Catalog

Tag: Taylor Zakhar Perez

  • ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ (2023) Review

    ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ (2023) Review

    Red, White & Royal Blue, written by Casey McQuiston, was one of the books I read in 2020 and absolutely loved. There was so much hype around it, but it lived up to my expectations, and so yes, I was excited to see a movie adaptation in the works. 99% of the time, I say the book is always better than the movie, and yes, in this case, it still is, but the Red, White & Royal Blue adaptation met my expectations and then some.

    Alex, the son of President Ellen Claremont, currently up for re-election, and Prince Henry of England are not fond of each other. Their icy relationship causes an embarrassing accident at Henry’s brother’s wedding, prompting the Palace and the Presidency to push the two men together for damage control. Their rivalry turns into attraction, but the two must keep their new relationship secret because of the President’s shaky campaign and, of course, the monarchy’s traditional values.

    Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine were perfectly cast as Alex and Henry, and both inhabited their characters quite well. One thing that made me love the book so much was how McQuiston conveyed Alex and Henry’s chemistry, which I thought might be difficult to replicate on screen. But Perez and Galitzine are great together, whether they’re making out, having a heart-to-heart, or arguing about the future of their relationship. There’s no doubt in the viewer’s mind that Alex and Henry are into each other and later in love.

    The supporting cast is great too, though they don’t get much screen time except for Uma Thurman, as Alex’s mother and American President, Ellen Claremont. She has a thick Texas accent, but, for the most part, pulls it off. Sarah Shahi is one of the film’s highlights as Ellen’s no-nonsense deputy chief of staff. Stephen Fry pops in for a quick scene as the King, Henry’s sister, played by Ellie Bamber, and Alex’s best friend, Nora (Rachel Hilson), are somewhat wasted in this adaptation, but I enjoyed them when they were featured.

    Red, White & Royal Blue successfully captures the novel’s snappy snark and humor, and I found myself laughing quite a bit, especially in the moments between Alex and Henry before they found common ground. Director Matthew Lopez, who also rewrote much of the screenplay, does a nice job keeping the story moving along, giving us enough of Alex and Henry together to believe that both are willing to put their futures and the futures of their families in jeopardy to be together. There’s romance, humor, and just enough angst to keep me interested.

    All that said, I am not sure why this movie got an R-rating. Not that I expected graphic smut and obscene language, but I think I heard one curse word, and the sex scenes are relatively tame compared to what I’ve seen in PG-13 movies.

    In any case, I loved this movie. Like the novel, it’s optimistic about what the world could be if we all learned to accept that love is love (and to get out and vote, thank you very much). Antiquated views should be a thing of the past. Everybody deserves a happy ending. Maybe that’s not a realistic view of life, but I don’t care.

    Lopez delivered an excellent adaptation of a book I thoroughly enjoyed, and I am sure I will watch this one again.

    Watched: 08/18/2023
    Notable Song: Can’t Help Falling In Love by Perfume Genius

    Rating:

  • ‘The Kissing Booth 3’ (2021) Review

    ‘The Kissing Booth 3’ (2021) Review

    The Kissing Booth 3 picks up where The Kissing Booth 2 ended – with Elle and Lee’s graduation and Elle finding out that she’s been accepted to both Harvard (Noah’s school) and Berkley (Lee’s school). She puts off her decision, telling both brothers that she’s been waitlisted at both colleges.

    The last movie in The Kissing Booth trilogy is the summer before Lee and Elle head off to college. They spend the summer at the beach house owned by Lee and Noah’s parents, who have plans to sell it. After Elle decides to attend Harvard with Noah, she strives to make it up to Lee by completing the Beach Bucket List they wrote as kids. In an attempt to make everyone happy, Elle becomes overwhelmed as her relationships fall apart.

    As much as I enjoy most of the cast, the movies are not very good, and The Kissing Booth 3 is no different. I couldn’t figure out why this movie is nearly 2 hours long. It has no cohesive narrative, and many scenes feel redundant and forced. Along with Lee and Elle’s bucket list montages (including swimming with sharks and skydiving), Elle’s dad has a new girlfriend, Noah’s friend Chloe arrives to stay at the beach house, and Marco shows up with a job at the local water park. Lee is planning literal schedules for himself and his girlfriend, Rachel, who attends a different college. Noah and Elle spend most of the movie fighting. Lather, rinse, repeat.

    While I understand what this movie wanted to be – a journey of self-discovery – it resorts to the petty love triangle vibe of the second movie. It wastes any potential it might have had to finish a rather bland trilogy on a solid note.

    Why did we need to see Marco again? What was the point of Chloe moping about her divorced parents? Sure, I get that these two characters are clearly meant to give advice and help Noah and Elle work things out, but ultimately, their presence in the film was pointless. Did anyone care about Lee and Rachel, the latter of whom was a complete non-factor in the movie? The charm and talent of Joey King are once again wasted here. Jacob Elordi has already proven he’s talented (Euphoria), but he’s just going through the motions here, though I can’t blame him, considering how little the script gives him to do.

    Obviously, this is not a glowing review of The Kissing Booth 3, but I will admit that I enjoyed it more than the first movie and maybe slightly more than the second. I found bits and pieces fun – mostly Elle and Lee’s scenes together, and I will admit that I liked the ending.

    It attempts some semblance of realism after an hour and a half of complete fantasy. I know that when watching these movies, we want the sugary happy ending with a cherry on top, but I was more than okay with how Elle’s story concluded. I saw many fans of these movies complaining about it, but I think Elle and Noah’s HEA was implied by that last shot.

    The Kissing Booth 3 is schmaltzy and repetitive, offering nothing new beyond the first two movies. If you want a teen romance with some depth, check out the To All the Boys trilogy instead.

    Watched: 08/20/2021
    Notable Song: Fading by Colouring

    Rating:
  • ‘The Kissing Booth 2’ (2020) Review

    ‘The Kissing Booth 2’ (2020) Review

    With Noah at Harvard in Boston, Elle (Joey King) begins her senior year of high school. She and Lee (Joel Courtney) apply to UC Berkeley because one of their “friendship rules” is to go to school together. Noah (Jacob Elordi) suggests Elle apply to other colleges, including colleges in Boston – notably Harvard. Elle agrees but does not mention it to Lee. As Elle dreams up a way to make enough money to attend school without putting a lot of financial pressure on her dad, she’s thrown into a dance competition with the new heartthrob at school, Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez), complicating her relationship with Noah.

    After finishing The Kissing Booth 2, I realized something. Well, a couple of things. While The Kissing Booth 2 is over two hours long, it didn’t need to be. A lot of unnecessary filler could have been cut to pare the movie down to a manageable hour and a half, and nothing would have been lost in the plot. I also realized that this movie is essentially the first in terms of structure. Elle meets a boy. Antagonizes the boy. She starts to have feelings for the boy. She lies to her best friend and keeps secrets from him. Oh! And another “love montage” that mimics the first film.

    And lastly, a large portion of this movie involves high school students listening to or watching embarrassing or intimate moments, their mouths gaping open, until the triumphant conclusion of a kiss or a confession of love. Then they all break into laughter, cheers, or applause. Sometimes all three. Where is this high school?!

    So, with all that said, is The Kissing Booth 2 any better than The Kissing Booth? Like the first film, the actual kissing booth perhaps has a 5% relevance to the story. But I feel like I’m becoming nitpicky there. Let’s get to the actual movie. As with the first movie, I enjoyed Joey King, Joel Courtney, and Jacob Elordi. I think all three deserve better material. I suppose there is more going on in this sequel, with Elle trying to decide which colleges to apply to and dealing with her long-distance relationship with Noah, unaware that she’s become the third wheel as she continually joins Lee on his dates with his girlfriend, Rachel.

    New student Marco is the hot new replacement for Noah. He’s studly, popular, and a great dancer. Not only that, but he’s a genuinely decent guy. There are no issues with temper and no desire to control or boss Elle around. The Kissing Booth 2 provides a pretty legit threat to Elle and Noah’s relationship. It reminded me of the love triangle in P.S I Still Love You. Separate the primary connection and introduce a third party to keep the audience guessing. But is there any doubt that Lara Jean will end up with Peter?

    Despite how perfect Marco is for Elle, will she break Noah’s heart for the new guy? There seems to be some law against such a thing in this genre. Noah was decidedly less problematic here, save for a few immature moments, but that’s probably because we didn’t get to see much of him. The problem is that Marco and Elle didn’t have much chemistry, at least not to me. Watching them was fun, but I didn’t feel a vast spark. Maybe because I knew how the movie would end, I already had to block rooting for the guy I was pretty sure would lose out in the end.

    As with the first movie, The Kissing Booth 2 features many contrived moments that feel overly forced and convenient. Does Elle need money to pay for school? There’s a Dance, Dance competition where the winner gets $50,000! Of course, she’s going to enter. Of course, Marco is going to be her partner. I can see where the writer wanted to tie it all together and give Elle and Marco a reason to spend time together, but it honestly felt like something I had seen once on Saved by the Bell or some early 90s show like that.

    There is the whole matter of Lee’s girlfriend taking issue with Elle hanging out with them so much, and Noah’s sexy new female friend in Boston, which triggers Elle’s insecurities. And, for some reason, a brief, sporadic subplot revolving around two gay students in the school crushing on each other. There’s a lot packed into this movie, and it felt very disjointed.

    Also, in what universe can a senior in high school suddenly say, “Oh, okay, I’ll apply to Harvard to be with my boyfriend. No big deal.” and get in? Unless you are Elle Woods (Legally Blonde), it feels very, very far-fetched. It cannot be that easy to get into an Ivy League school. Right!?

    I will admit I enjoyed the Thanksgiving dinner scene because I am all about angsty drama, though, again, it felt like most of the drama stemmed from a total lack of communication. But because the characters are teenagers and (most) teenagers are (generally) dumb, they’ll get a pass for that. I will bump up the rating to half a star for that scene alone because I am an angst wh*re.

    The Kissing Booth 2 ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and they’ve already greenlit the third movie, so… keep an eye on this space for that review. I guess. 😀

    Watched: 08/07/2020
    Notable Song: Wonderlust by Will Post

    Rating: