Cheesy, perhaps, but we need more happy gay endings. Generally, people get separated, killed, die from AIDS or...some other horrible outcome. I'm an old man, but I absolutely loved this film because it's so upbeat (and the protagonists are gorgeous). I'm hoping for a sequel. BTW, I thought your psychological analysis was nice.

Princes not being allowed to be gay probably also has a lot to do with the fact that they are expected to produce heirs to the throne.

The movie may be cheesy but I think the author of the book wanted to show us a better , kinder world than the way things were going in 2016 and how things could be. It felt good and seemed hopeful to me. And the two main actors were so good at portraying all the emotions.

I'm not a Royalist and would never go out to see them, but if one was outed, didn't come out but was outed, I might go and show support cause I would know they might need it and it wouldn't so much be because they were Royal but because they were a member of the LGBT+ community that needed support (and they are a very visible one and the world would need to see the support)

I was pleasantly surprised with this movie! It had to make some changes from the novel, but it was just the right level of cheesiness, cliché, cuteness! It was also a great testiment to his acting to have Stephen Fry as the "anti-gay" British King.

"I can't do the whole video because that would go on for 4 hours. And nobody wants that." Um... I might watch that.

The king is played by gay icon Stephen Fry and the brother, Prince Phillip, is played by an actor who identifies as queer. I've read that Fry is actually friends with some royals, so I'm assuming he is copying the mannerisms of how this might have played out in reality.

I’m a pretty fan of the book the movie is adapting, and I think they did a pretty good job. But I will say there’s a lot more mental health stuff in the book (specifically with Henry) since in the book it’s made clear Henry deals with depression and some form of anxiety due to losing his father and being in the limelight constantly. There’s even this beautiful scene between Alex and Bea (Henry’s sister) where Bea openly talks about Henry’s grief and depression, I’d include the quote but it’s super long. But basically Bea just tells Alex that this grief is part of Henry and to love him he also has to love that part of Henry too. I decided to include the huge quote: “So, imagine we’re all born with a set of feelings. Some are broader or deeper than others, but for everyone, there’s that ground floor, a bottom crust of the pie. That’s the maximum depth of feeling you’ve ever experienced. And then, the worst thing happens to you. The very worst thing that could have happened. The thing you had nightmares about as a child, and you thought, it’s all right because that thing will happen to me when I’m older and wiser, and I’ll have felt so many feelings by then that this one worst feeling, the worst possible feeling, won’t seem so terrible. But it happens to you when you’re young. It happens when your brain isn’t even fully done cooking-when you’ve barely experienced anything, really. The worst thing is one of the first big things that ever happens to you in your life. It happens to you, and it goes all the way down to the bottom of what you know how to feel, and it rips it open and carves out this chasm down below to make room. And because you were so young, and because it was one of the first big things to happen in your life, you’ll always carry it inside you. Every time something terrible happens to you from then on, it doesn’t just stop at the bottom -it goes all the way down.”

"He's gonna spill something" how about the entire cake lol

Honestly, I am glad that the gays are getting cheesy romantic movies. It was long overdue

As much as there is to say about what Love, Simon gets wrong, the thing it gets incredibly right is Simon's justified anger at Marcus for outing him. He uses the same talking points as you do, that coming out was supposed to be his thing and he was supposed to decide who and how to tell, but that was taken away from him and instead he was thrust out of the closet before being fully ready to. Coming out is incredibly personal and being outed the way Alex and Henry were is absolutely horrific

Try to remember this story takes place in a more tolerant alternative universe.

You said it..... Cheesy, but enjoyable and heartwarming....

I looooved the sweetness. It's one of those classic sugary fairytales.

I was born in 1950 and any actual labels for queers were almost never spoken. Someone would say to someone else "he's . . ." and rotate their hand a slight bit back and forth. I didn't know I was gay but knew I had the hots for Mighty Mouse, then Disney's Peter Pan. I did think of myself as a "sissy" and never learned to throw a ball overhand because admitting I didn't (instinctively) know how to do that would reveal my sissyness. Gym in school was an absolute terror. (Could have just gone to the gym teacher and ask for help.) I heard rumors of different actors and famous people being gay but then like Alex, heard they had a (sham) marriage, thought the rumor was false. Literally no knowing anyone else, I began to image a gay man must be weird and so if I saw someone acting really strange, figured he must be gay - hence reinforcing that belief. I found a newspaper article about a mass-murder of young men (not John Wayne Gacy) which had a postage-sized picture of him. He actually looked normal and attractive, and knowing he definitely was gay, carried that little image in my wallet as my first role model.

You should do a react to the book too. The book is a lot different to watching the movie. Both in storyline and in queer representation. In the book, there's mention of Henry's anxiety and depression, as well as a more in depth look at the homophobia he has faced from his own family, as well as past trauma. As well as dealing with the grief of losing his father. It touches on Alex's bisexuality crisis better, hints that he has had his own demons with alcohol, as well as slight anxiety and trauma around his parents divorce. Alex also mentions that he has partaken in some self distructive behaviours in the past, as a coping mechanism. The book also touches on Bea's (Henry's sister) battle with her drug addiction from her grief. How Bea is her brothers ally against the firm's homophobia and as well as their mother's personal grief and mourning journey. Which essentially is ignoring everything and everyone, including her own children. When they're outed there is much more of an emphasis on the mental health toll it takes on each of them. (Alex having panic attacks and blacking out) There is also more queer representation, with the June and Nora relationship, plus the june/Nora/Pez triad. There's a step parent relationship. There's the queer role model for Alex in (RAF) and Pez is much more flamboyant. Oscar isn't as accepting, by not allowing them to share a bed. Amy, the secret service agent is a trans woman and married to a woman. The book is definitely worth a react.

Of course it’s a cheesy film. But I loved the book and the film. Having lived through the repression in the 60’s, gay liberation the 70’s HIV/AIDS in the 80’s and 90’s, and the constant attempts that continue to try and suppress the LGBTQ+ community I was beyond happy to use half a box of tissues shedding many tears of happiness watching this film even if it is a cheesy fantasy. Please don’t get me wrong I actually loved your review and look forward to watching more of your reviews. One thing I’ve learned when approaching any art form, especially film and theatre is check reality at the door and enjoy. ❤

you should watch the newly released deleted scene about them talking at a camp fire in Texas. there's a lot of psychology going on there

Note that Piers Morgan wrote the article being anti-gay about Eastenders. 8:23

I'm curious to know your take on the closet scene's "Santal 33" moment, and the scene at the white house at the end's "you still haven't noticed my tie"/"yellow roses" moment. I have fairly little psych knowledge, but as someone with anxiety myself, I know the signs of anxiety that Alex shows in these scenes, and can't help but to notice the way Henry (seemingly affectively) distracts him using smell/sight grounding techniques, respectively. I would love to see these analyzed more in depth from a professional psychological standpoint!

Hell yes, queer people deserve as many cheesy romantic comedies as straight people get! 😄💖

Cheesy, definitely, but in a good way. Like the wonder and delight we felt as children when we saw our first Disney films. I could eat it up with a fork! 😂

I like how Elliott thinks people collecting outside of the palace for a gay royal is unrealistic. As an American, I too had my immersion broken when TEXAS went democrat

9:09 I know about maypoles mostly from the Men Without Hats video, “Safety Dance.” 😅

Just a quick reaction to your reaction to the “cheesey” ending to the movie. My thought about it was with the usual tragic or heart wrenching endings of so many gay movies, this was a joy.

Usually you just need to use the forks and knifes from the most on the outside to the closest to the plate in that order and the biggest spoon to smallest spoon.

I also wanted to know your opinion on the whole thing of Miguel outing both Alex and Henry, him being queer himself and all

I prefer romances with sad endings (Not Just GAY ROMANCES, All Romances Are Better With A Tragic Ending) however, this movie worked for me. Suprisingly. Definitely cheesy but still good.

I always took the king’s stuttering of “because” as him trying to find a half decent reason. It makes me think that he himself didn’t mind, but was afraid what the public would think. In the book it was the queen and she was a straight up C U Next Tuesday. The mom had to step in and be like “bitch I see you forgetting shit. I will go public with that and ruin you if you fudge with my son” 😂 it was so much better.

I'm here for the cheese!!! I'm lactose intolerant, give me cheese!!!

I love this movie so much, as a bisexual it's just so lovely to see positive representation and queer people actually get a happy ending. Also it's genuinely such a good movie that's so cute, hilarious (I laughed so much throughout omg) and also makes some really important points about society, and lgbtq+ issues in general (alex's speech made me cry). My one criticism is as a british person, some of the scenes about british people/in britain you can really tell were written by americans, who don't know any actual british people, but besides that, amazing film. ❤

You clearly under estimate the LGBTQ+ community in your own country cuz I’ve seen many reactions of Brit’s here and they all agree that the community would show up to support! And you throw around the word cheesy a lot! Yes it’s a bit cheesy but it’s also a movie that makes you want to have that reality one day.

I'm contrary enough that if I went to such a fancy dinner with extra utensils, if lost, I'm might try to use the most obviously wrong one. (Or more likely, just watch everyone else or ask the person next to me.) The ironic thing is that they don't seem to have any solid food at this reception except for a morsel Alex discards behind the sofa, and one giant-ass cake which looks totally impractical to cut and serve without a forklift. (And like when where they going to serve it?) So Alex won't be needing ANY fork.

It's so cheesy but I LOVED this movie. We deserve HEAs.

When that episode of Eastenders aired in Australia I remember watching it with my family. And my father's response still haunts me.

I had issues with the production quality of the movie. It was a bit choppy and sometimes disconnected. The opening a closing credits looked B-movie quality. It's like they had a budget and didn't really want to risk a whole lot of money on it. One of the obvious-to-me and to every other pilot was the scene where Alex and Henry are at a local airport and Alex is heading back to the USA on a corporate jet. The tail number of the jet began with "RA." That aircraft is registered in Russia. I hardly think the First Son and HRH Henry would be allowed anywhere near such an aircraft. For $50 and a trip to to the UPS Store, a suitable stick-on banner could have been acquired for that stationary ground shot. We didn't even hear the engines spool up. Items like that kind of rolled my eyes. On a more serious note, I wonder about King's past and current comments. The expression he had on his face as his back was to the others in the room. I wonder if he had known all along about Henry and was perhaps reflecting on his own youth and sexuality, and the sacrifice he made to the Crown?

I did appreciate your insight, I do find it odd how you responded to the ending and your body language when you called the scene "cheesy" - is there a level of discomfort to those types of scenes? Often gay men have been brutal when any topic touches on intimacy or those "cheesy" moments. I get tired of the gay community being so brutal when it comes to thoughts of love or having a connection - I feel that the loud voices in the gay community keep trying to drive the "norm" to being something that I can't relate to - oversexualization or objectification. I am a simple guy, love romance and bring on the cheese LOL ...

wrt First Gay Kisses on TV: the first gay kiss on television here in Germany happened in 1988, in an episode of the country's longest running soap opera "Lindenstrasse". I was only 9 years old at the time, but I still remember that it was massively scandalized. The tv station received bomb threats and the actors were threatened in the street. I feel so, so happy seeing this movie, and seeing how far we have come!

My husband and I loved the ending. We’re not sure, but it seemed to us this might be the first gay storyline movie that didn’t end in tragedy. Now that the sequel has been announced, we can’t wait. I came out in the early 80’s. I was given 30 minutes to pack what I wanted, leave my house keys, and the keys to the car that I’d gotten as a birthday present, and was registered in my name, on the table, and “get OUT!”. It was a rough few years. I had to quit school, and find a full time job that would support me. My then boyfriend was supportive, but didn’t want a live in situation. After a few years, my folks and I were getting along better. One evening when I got home from work there was an invitation to a family party waiting for me. I mulled it over in my head, not sure if I wanted to attend. After a week or so my mother called asking if I was going to attend and I had to RSVP. I made up my mind and told her if I wasn’t allowed to bring anyone I was dating, just like other family members were always welcome to, I wouldn’t be attending any family events in the future. She looked a little shocked. She paused and said she’d have to think about it. I replied “O.K., let me know”. I thought it was only fair, and if she said no, oh well. She called a week later and said I could bring a date. My folks had never met anyone I was seeing. At that time I was dating a man in his 30’s who was an executive for General Motors. He was dark, tall, and handsome. When we arrived at the restaurant, it seemed that everyone stopped what they were doing and all at once looked to see who was with me. We worked our way to my parents table, introductions all around, and my dad seemed to sulk all night. It went well, my boyfriend sat next to my mother and made small talk. Mom & Dad slowly became used to meeting the men I dated. I know it was hard for them, but it was good for them considering what eventually happened. In the fall of 1990, I was looking around a Tiffany store. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and should have said “there you are, I’ve been waiting for you”. A taller good looking guy with dark hair and a mustache, all dressed in beige held his hand out to me to tell me his name. He asked if he could buy me a drink. We’ve been together ever since. My folks fell in love with him. I always have to watch myself if I ever admire anything because it will appear sometime during the year. When our 10th anniversary was approaching, one evening when we went out to dinner with my folks, my mom said, “your dad and I were thinking and we’d like to take you two on a cruise for your anniversary”. We were blown away. I thought my boyfriend was going to say no. But he was the first one to say yes. “You don’t turn down a cruise when someone is offering to pay”. We had a wonderful time. My mom and my boyfriend closed down the piano bar on board almost every night while my dad and I turned in to our state rooms. Both my mom and dad are gone now. I’ve always been happy that they finally came around. About 5 months after my dad passed away, I was diagnosed with stage3 cancer. My now husband was with me holding my hand through everything. I know it all sounds too good to be true, but it’s our life and we feel lucky. Will the sequel be called “Red, White and Royal Weddiing”? Who knows, we hope it’s just as cheesy as the first film.

"I was born in 1989"'...realising Doc Elliott and I are year twins!!!!!!

I really enjoyed the exploration of psychology and terminology such as "reaction formation" in tandem with this sweet and engaging romantic comedy. Very cool. Thank you!

Finally! I was hoping you would react to this!

I kinda wish you’d had the chance to also read the book. The story in the book makes so much more sense than in the movie (at least it does to me) + you get the benefit of having the author’s notes. Anyway, I really love your videos :)

The ending was just as unrealistic on the American side xD Texas going blue? That's how I knew it was a fantasy.

Watch Interview with the Vampire! it's in the uk now :) Louis and Lestat is the relationship that Will and Hannibal are based on.

It's nice to see a british person talking about this movie lol.

Please do Young Royals next!!

Remember to get your HPV vac regardless of f youre active btw. it helps prevent some cancers

Speaking of Royalty and queerness, and not exactly to do with this show but more IRL fun fact, if you will: gay monarchs have definitely been a thing even if it hasn't been stated outright. Frederick the Great of Prussia is a prime example. There's also at least one French king that more than likely was gay. I want to say Henri IV but I'm not sure at all. However, if the England, Scotland, and Ireland were still ruled by Jacobites (because Jacobites never united the crowns), then the current monarch would have been Francis II, and Francis II is openly gay. I know that with the UK it's the whole but they are also the head of the CoE, hence why Edward VIII was forced to abdicate but I think today we wouldn't really bat too much of an eye. Great reaction as always.

It`s funny how you reacted at the final scene while most people cried at it. Interesting hah

I loved this movie! ❤️🥰🙏🏻 even if it was cheesy 😅

I think we could listen to you for 4 hours! One thing you notice about the speech pattern of the royals portrayed in his movie is how flowery they make the language. Not sure it's entirely accurate, but presumably, how the screenwriter wants to convey a different in style of speech. Also, a bit ironic that Stephen Fry is playing the "straight" king. He also pronounces homosexual starting with hom and is Tom instead of ho-mo, presumably, to make it sound more old-timey.

I'm in my 60's and I would shout it from the rooftops if one of the royals came out as any of the colours

Watch Young Royals it's so good. It has a lot of content about mental health.

"I was born in 1989". God that hit hard. I was 12 and considered old enough to go shopping by myself in 1989. (Obviously I was buying Kylie singles.)

I don't know what I watched of stephen fry last, but I can't see him as this traditional, homopfobic king :0 xD Stephen just feels like your chill grandpa, who always tells you way to much about the silly goofy stuff he did in his youth

Watch Young Royals!!

insomnia is also often part of bipolar and c ptsd... i have second and since age 9 spent many many many many nights awake... actually i watched this movie as a part of marathon movie watching for 2 nights and 3 days in a row without any sleep.. 3d night body could not take anymore i collapsed and slept for 42 hours... coz of some wired reason i had a nighmare that prince charles and queen elisabeth are forcing me to eat a giant cake, no idea how the president of my own country got in there, but he was part of a dream and still today i cant rember what the hell was his role in a dream. that is only dream i remember from that period.. rest pretty sure was reliving the traumas and unblocking some blocked memories, know that for sure coz when i woke up i was abel to connect the dots among some events..

Great reaction as always. I loved the movie, but still had problems with it. I wish it had had a bigger budget so that some of the scenery did not look so obviously fake - Im looking at you White House balcony scene!. I wish that they had got some actual British broadcasters like they did with the US ones like Rachael Maddow. No matter how good the actors are they just dont seem real like Maddow and Reid did. Same for the interviewers in the early scene when Henry and Alex were on the couch talking about their brand new "longstanding" friendship. Also, Americans never really do get how royal things work properly. I know its a movie, but that meet and greet lineup with all the wedding guests where they just sail past a whole bunch of the guests would just never have happened, never mind having Henry and Bea gossiping out loud like that. Still, I really loved the movie overall, which is a testament to how totally believable Nick and Taylor were as Henry and Alex.

Cutlery is easy : start on the outside and work your way in. No big deal.

I love your reaction.🥰😂

l hasna read the book but l loved the movie parts made me laugh and parts made me cry and as far as it bein cheesy l happen to like cheese and cheesy things like cheesy movies and cheesy boybands cheesy anime

American tourist that happened to be there 😂

Proper cheese 😂 Have you thought about reacting to Becoming Ian Brady? Or is that off limits?

I have an honest question - I am not queer, and though I liked the film, I too felt it was a bit cheesy, though in my case it didn't bother me so much as I felt it was aspirational on the part of the writers and creators, due partly to the fact that we _don't_ get so many queer representation, and because being queer and public about it is still not as safe and normalized everywhere as it probably should be. I wonder if you as a queer person (and probably more people like you in the community) prefer stories like this, that give it a very heartwarming and idealistic approach, or would you prefer something that is a bit more grounded in reality - both in terms of representation as well as entertainment?

You had me until you said people would not show support for a loved Royal figure because he is Gay. Gay Pride parades get large crowds. Why this would be "impossible" in a "Gay Fairytale" for a popular Prince, seems very intriguing.

hehehehehe I love this movie so much!

Ok, I just watched the first gay Eastenders kiss on youtube. That wasn't a kiss; it was barely a peck. They got upset about that???

Actually, would love to hear your reactions and thoughts on all of this movie, no matter how long.

You have to watch Young Royals

I dislike Horror movies and RomComs. the former because it is a waste of money to sit in a theatre to stare at the floor or watch though my fingers. The latter because I tend to become a blubbering idiot...which is fine until the houselights come one and my tears are plain to all. So I was kind of hoping that RH&RB would fail as a RomCom. It didn't. But was it a good movie ? RomComs are rarely good movies (Pretty Woman is an anomoly in that regard) and this was no exception... it is a throw away piece of fluff. But it was at least highly entertaining piece of fluff. It has also been a HUGE success among my straight friends, which suggests it serves an important purpose and proves that inclusion in the conversation does not have to slap people across the head with messaging. In a world where gay content is often inserted to fit a 'woke' quota, this really did feel like it was just a love story without any particular agenda. That makes it a minor triumph. Stephen Fry as the King (Queen?) of England was an exquisite choice. If I were American, I'd vote for Uma Thurman.

I would get a second opinion

As a british person, our monarchy is ridiculous, but the way this movie is structured makes it seem like the british monarchy is the equivalente to the US government, like we also have a government and the monarchy doesn't have any political influence really.

Hi @drelliotreacts are you not going to continue react to sex education

Would you do me a favor? Quit your day job & use that time to make millions & millions of videos for me to watch? 🥺

While I understand that you cannot do the entire film, I would like to respectfully disagree on the point that no-one would want to see a 4 hour video from you 00:55

It’s a gay version of a hallmark movie. So much cheese it creates a charcuterie board. (Note this was made by prime, hallmark has be criticised for lack of diversity and some of their actors are openly homophobia)

"Fags" to mean cigarettes is hopefully a word younger Britons are using less and less.

Four hours!?!?! Is this movie really so psychologically and emotionally unbalanced?

Uhmm I usually love your reaction but you missed with this one bud

Nothing wrong with cheesy.

I enjoyed this movie, but the book is so much better. I think it would've been an even more successful adaptation if it had been made into a miniseries. I'm not a fan of rom-coms in general, but this one was fun if only for the extreme cheese-factor and queerness.

I watched this with my brother over the weekend, and it was the first queer movie we've watched together (I'm trans). I absolutely hated how cheesy it was, but he of course loved it.

Clever guy, but not averse to spouting bullshit. Periodically cynical. Sad really. Interesting professional insights though.

I can’t believe you skipped Alex’s speech 👎🏻

There's definitely a very pro-American and anti-Brit bias in the writing for both the book and film 😂

I don't intend to watch this, mostly because I don't have Amazon, but also because I found the book to be so annoyingly bad and I highly doubt the film will be any better.

Thank you for watching it so I don't have to xD It seems way too cheesy, but hey - more positive queer representation is a good thing.

Way to too woke and not even close to what gay people go through.

what would happan if the prince vonted to marry a man? Does UK have protocol for that? Would the crown go to nexst in line? Cause he can't have biological kids from mariage🫤

You should react to young royals. It’s only three seasons and only six episodes per season