Review of The Princess Switch: Switched Again
As a result of its great success, Netflix has released a sequel to The Princess Switch, just in time for the holidays. The movie once again stars Vanessa Hudgens as both Duchess Margaret and Princess Stacy. Sam Palladio plays the role of Prince Edward, and Nick Sagar reprises his role as Kevin.
While some viewers, including Kristin Smith from Plugged In and Jennifer Green from Common Sense Media, have criticized The Princess Switch: Switched Again as being a movie with a predictable and cheesy love story, I thought it was a wonderful Christmas movie, thanks to the group of lovable main characters and a flamboyant, evil antagonist.
The original Princess Switch focused on Stacy, a young woman on vacation in the fictional country of Belgravia with her friend Kevin. She accidentally bumps into the Duchess of Montenaro, Margaret, and finds they look exactly the same. Duchess Margaret asks to switch places with Stacy in order to grant herself some much-desired freedom, and Stacy agrees. Stacy ends up falling in love with Prince Edward, Duchess Margaret’s fiancé, and Margaret falls in love with Kevin.
The Princess Switch 2 picks up where the first movie ended. It follows Princess Stacy as she tries to bring Kevin and Duchess Margaret together again, while Margaret prepares for her coronation. As revealed in the trailer, Stacy realizes that the only way for her plan to work is for her to switch places with Margaret as they did in the previous movie. Unbeknownst to them, though, Margaret’s evil cousin Lady Fiona (also played by Hudgens!) is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. To secure her financial future, she decides to dress up as Margaret, become crowned queen, and steal the money in the treasury. Margaret and Stacy manage to stop Fiona and get her and all other members of the scheme arrested. Kevin and Margaret get married, and Stacy and Edward reaffirm their love for each other, creating a heartwarming ending.
Overall, the movie is uplifting and lighthearted. The romances are a little cheesy, but it is a worthwhile watch nonetheless. Besides Lady Fiona, there is an overwhelming positivity that radiates from the story. The characters struggle mostly with simple problems that can be easily fixed. By the end, everyone is happy, and all their problems are solved. This gives the viewer a space to forget the much more trying problems that face them nowadays.
The costumes are beautiful as well—most of all Duchess Margaret’s coronation dress, with its beautiful off-the-shoulder cape sleeves and gold sequin-covered white bodice. The stunning outfit is paired with a radiant diamond necklace and gorgeous tiara. Not to mention, there are plenty of side characters that add their own bit of spice to the movie, such as Kevin’s daughter Olivia, who repeatedly swoops in to save the day and help preserve the secret that Duchess Margaret and Princess Stacy switched.
Because of the film’s feel-good message about the power of friendship and love as well as its inclusion of the holiday spirit, I would highly recommend watching Princess Switch 2, either on your own or with family. I am definitely looking forward to what Netflix will do in Princess Switch 3, should there be one.
by JULIA ARNOLD