9 Movies to Watch If You Loved 'Red, White & Royal Blue'

Gay rom-coms for the win!

Gay romances and romantic comediess are finally getting their well-deserved time in the spotlight, thanks in part to beloved, popular films like Amazon Prime Video's Red, White & Royal Blue.

If you've seen the film and are on the hunt for some other gay rom-coms that are either similar or well worth a watch, here are nine you'll want to add to your watchlist ASAP!

Call Me by Your Name

This should come as no surprise since Call Me by Your Name was one of the most popular movies of 2017, but if you loved Red, White & Royal Blue, you'll love this one, too. The story follows 17-year-old Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet) who lives in rural Northern Italy and falls for the 24-year-old Jewish American graduate student Oliver (Armie Hammer) as he works as an intern for Elio's father. It's an emotional and poignant exploration of love and self-discovery that received a lot of acclaim for its performances and storytelling.

Boys

The Dutch film Jongens, translated to Boys in English, is an underrated film that follows 15-year-old Sieger (Gijs Blom) who discovers love with Marc (Ko Zandvliet) over a summer holiday. The film takes the typical self-acceptance story and turns it into an incredible piece depicting internal struggles that features all-star performances and amazing direction. It showcases the pressures of coming to terms with sexuality and how influence can pressure the surroundings, but how positive love can be.

The Thing About Harry

2020's The Thing About Harry follows a similar enemies-to-lovers plot as Red, White & Royal Blue. High school enemies Sam Basjili (Jake Borelli) and Harry Turpin (Niko Terho) are forced to drive together to a friend's engagement party on Valentine's Day. Sam is a young gay man and Harry was the popular jock back in the day, but when Sam finds out Harry has come out of the closet, Sam takes the opening for the potential of a relationship. The chemistry between the lead actors adds to its charm, despite the cheesy rom-com formula.

Handsome Devil

Handsome Devil is a 2016 coming-of-age film set in an Irish boarding school following the unlikely budding friendship between Ned (Fionn O'Shea) and Connor (RWRB's Nicholas Galitzine). Directed by John Butler, Galitzine takes on the role of the school's all-star rugby player in this film, and he grapples with his shared love of music with the gay loner Ned. Although the relationship between Ned and Connor isn't exactly romantic, it still showcases the power of friendship and acceptance and how even the most opposite of people can attract.

Alex Strangelove

Alex Strangelove is a 2018 rom-com directed by Craig Johnson. It follows titular character Alex Strangelove (Daniel Doheny), a high schooler on a quest to lose his virginity to his girlfriend, Claire (Madeleine Weinstein). The problem? He meets the handsome and charming Elliott (Antonio Marziale), a gay kid from another side of town who sends him on a rollercoaster journey of figuring out his sexual identity. Without giving anything away, the film received generally positive reviews for its depiction of sexuality and, more importantly, acceptance.

Love, Simon

Love, Simon is a 2018 film that follows 17-year-old Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) on his quest for love, the only thing holding him back is his internal struggle with his identity. He begins an anonymous relationship online with another closeted classmate known as "Blue." The film garnered praise for its representation of LGBTQ+ characters and helped increase visibility within mainstream cinema. The film's success led to a spin-off television series on Hulu called Love, Victor, so if you can't get enough when you're done with the film, the TV show is there for your binging needs.

Fire Island

Fire Island is a 2022 Hulu film following a group of friends, Noah (Joel Kim Booster), Howie (Bowen Yang), Luke (Matt Rogers), Keegan (Tomás Matos), and Max (Torian Miller) who go to Fire Island to share a house with their "house mother" Erin (Margaret Cho). While on vacation, Howie meets Charlie (James Scully) and strikes a fancy for him, and Noah takes it upon himself to play matchmaker. Along the way, he has his own escapades and finds himself in a love-hate with Will (Conrad Ricamora), and the drama that ensues is nothing short of entertaining.

Bros

Bros was another gay rom-com from 2022, though audience reactions for the film are generally more mixed than basically any other film on this list. Still, the relationship between Aaron (Luke Macfarlane) and Bobby (Billy Eichner) is still worth a watch, both despite and because of the stereotypes it addresses. The arc between Bobby and Aaron follows a similar enemies-to-lovers trope as most other rom-coms, but the brash and upfront nature in which many stereotypes are addressed (such as gay men's struggle with dating and monogamy) was hit-or-miss among fans.

Single All the Way

Although more of a seasonal holiday film, Netflix's Single All the Way is still a gay rom-com that hits all the right spots. The plot follows Peter (Michael Urie) who is tired of his family's constant pestering into his love life. He convinces his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) to pose as his boyfriend for the holiday season, but their plan goes awry when Peter's family suspects their relationship is fake, though Nick discovers his feelings might not be fake after all. The film also stars the legendary actresses Kathy Najimy and Jennifer Coolidge and is the perfect gay rom-com for the holidays (or any time you need a heartwarming film).