This is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by editor Kevin Fallon. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up for it here.
This week:
- How is the Barbie movie already this popular?
- Reactions to the Big Gay Red, White & Royal Blue trailer.
- My personal fave returns to And Just Like That.
- Bernadette Peters stays winning.
- A very important cinematic parallel.
Red White & Royal Opinions
Sometimes I read a cute little book, see that it’s being made into a cute-looking movie, and briefly forget that there is no such thing anymore as merely being “cute.” It is the year of Twitter Bluesky Threads 2023. Nothing exists without the accompaniment of the most unpleasant word of our time: discourse. Especially when the cute thing in question is a gay thing.
I was reminded of this annoying reality this week, with the release of the trailer for the upcoming romantic comedy Red, White & Royal Blue, based on the best-selling 2019 novel by Casey McQuiston.
The book follows Alex, the son of the first female president of the United States, and Prince Henry, who is third in line for the British throne. The pair begin as nemeses, their egos clashing when Alex is sent as the family representative to the Royal Wedding of Henry’s older brother. They get into an argument, which leads to a scuffle, which leads to an international incident: They knock over the cake.
It’s over the course of doing diplomatic damage control that Alex and Henry’s fiery antagonism becomes fiery flirtation. In a moment of passion, they hook up. They question and come to terms with their respective sexualities. Then they hook up some more, come out to—or, in some cases, are found out by—members of their families, who then grapple with whether to allow the First Son and the Royal Prince to be public as a couple.
I read the book in, like, two days while on vacation. I thought it was innocuous and sweet, and I was surprised that there was actual fucking in it. The movie is rated R, indicating there may be fucking in that too. When it comes to queer-themed rom-coms directed at a mainstream audience, we call that progress.
Then again, there are all the elements of Red, White & Royal Blue that do not represent progress, hence that word again: discourse.
While the book’s author, McQuiston, identifies as queer and non-binary, there are critics who dismiss Red, White & Royal Blue as yet another best-selling book about queer or gay men not written by a queer or gay man. (Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life may be the most egregious example.)
As they did with other recent queer romances like Love, Simon, Happiest Season, and Heartstopper, some members of the LGBTQ community have criticized McQuiston’s book as yet another mainstream story that still—and almost solely—focuses on the trauma of coming out of the closet. And, as exemplified by the leads’ collective dozen or so abs on display in the RW&RB trailer, this is another example of a story centering the experiences of privileged, extremely hot men. Alex is biracial, so at least it’s not solely a privileged, extremely hot, white male experience this time around.
Plus, will there be enough fucking? The jury’s out!
In any case, here’s a sampling of the mixed reactions to the trailer, to give a sense of how polarizing these projects can be. (Me? I’m excited for it!)
In Praise of the Crowd Favorite
There was only one thing more thrilling than the return of Hot Steve in this week’s episode of And Just Like That. (See below for a still of, finally, his first appearance in Season 2: shirtless, with a killer revenge bod, boxing in his apartment.) That would be the return of my favorite recurring character in the Sex and the City universe, Candice Bergen’s now-former Vogue editor Enid Frick.
There’s no greater treat for fans of long-running shows than the periodic arrival of a beloved recurring character: exactly perfect in doses, with actors making a feast out of a snack. Think Janice on Friends, Beverly Leslie on Will & Grace, or Jan on The Office.
Enid is the perfect Sex and the City/And Just Like That character, because she’s such a foil for Carrie. Coldness and directness is key to her professional success, whereas Carrie’s girlishness and effusiveness becomes her trademark. But they share an insecurity that ends up bonding them, to the point that their relationship toggles between frenemy territory, mutual respect, and utter resentment. For all the ways in which they walk on ice around each other, they manage to be the only ones capable of getting each other to see the harsh truths.
Beyond that, Enid is an icon: horny, desperate to retain power, and so jealous in spite of her social status that she wields bitterness like the Upper East Side’s most dangerous weapon. Her appearance this week was fantastic and, beyond her wealth, relatable! I won’t reveal what happens at the party she throws that Carrie attends in this episode. The last time they were at a soirée together, the infamous “splat!” happened. What they witness this time may be the only thing more shocking.
Bernadette Peters Can Teach Us a Lot
Bernadette Peters was a guest on Live With Kelly and Mark this week. Her entrance to the interview should be studied.
The way she danced, as if no one was watching but all the eyes of the world were on her, isn’t just fun or funny. It’s spiritual. It’s how I want to move through life. Leaving the office on Friday? I’m gonna dance out like Bernadette Peters. Going on a first date? Dancing into the restaurant like Bernie. Arriving to pick up my Taco Bell order? Busting my best B. Pete moves while I enter. It’s now my entire personality. I encourage it to be yours, too.
Important Cinematic Parallels
If you are a gay who did not clock that Enid’s party in this week’s And Just Like That took place in the same townhouse where Miranda Priestly lived in The Devil Wears Prada, I am sorry to say that you must now turn in your membership card. GLAAD will be in touch with further instructions.
More From The Daily Beast’s Obsessed
Yes, chefs, there’s a lot of food on The Bear. But it means more than you think, so we did a deep-dive into the menu. Read more.
Captain Pike on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the best captain in Star Trek history, and we will fight you on that. Read more.
In case, for some sadistic, ill-advised reason, you care to know what happened in the finale of The Idol, we’ve got you covered. Read more.
What to watch this week:
Joy Ride: Exactly the kind of raunchy sex comedy that summers need. (Now in theaters)
The Horror of Dolores Roach: Killing people and baking them into empanadas? Mrs. Lovett found shaking. (Now on Prime Video.)
What We Do in the Shadows: In Season 5, this already brilliant comedy somehow gets even funnier. (Thurs. on FX)
What to skip this week:
Insidious: The Red Door: Excuse us for thinking a horror movie should actually be scary. (Now in theaters)
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