The very public ill will between Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the president of the US, and Britain’s Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), second in line to the throne, threatens to cause an international incident. But the urgent public relations damage control exercise has unforeseen consequences: the two become firm friends, and then much more.
This adaptation of a bestselling novel by Casey McQuiston is so slick and polished, it feels obsessively micro-managed rather than directed. It’s an approach that makes for a glossily accessible piece of YA fluff, at the expense of much in the way of personality. Fortunately, the twin charisma assault of the two leads adds considerably to the film’s appeal. It turns out that watching two impossibly beautiful boys making cow eyes at each other might be just the escapist pulp we need right now.
