The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Hudgens is back in ‘The Princess Switch: Switched Again’
Netflix’s ‘The Princess Switch: Switched Again’ sticks to predictable formula but with Hudgens now pulling triple duty
There is a mountain of princess-related fare out there.
This much I knew. But because I have no daughters and because I, myself, enjoy incredibly manly pursuits — watching football, trying different craft beers, not cleaning nearly often enough, etc. — I’ve seen only a handful of princessian adventures, primarily high-profile Disney releases such as “Frozen.”
What goes on in most of them is none of my business.
But last weekend, in preparation for this review of the new Netflix movie “The Princess Switch: Switched Again,” I picked away at its predecessor, 2018 holiday-season release “The Princess Switch.”
Starring Vanessa Hudgens of “High School Musical” fame, “The Princess Switch” is said to be based on the Mark Twain novel “The Prince and the Pauper.”
Perhaps that’s why, as the lighthearted affair wore on, I became, I guess, invested in Hudgens’ lookalike characters, Lady Margaret Delacourt, duchess of Montenaro, and Stacy DeNovo, unfamous-but-talented baker from Chicago, and their increasingly highstakes switching of places as Christmas approaches.
Oh boy, will each find love with new gents while taking the other’s place or face a sad holiday alone?
And — more importantly — was I watching “The Princess Switch” INSTEAD of football???
Look, I enjoyed it for what it is: a cute, sugary slice of holiday fare better paired with a glass of milk than a bottle of beer.
Honestly, when Netflix unlocked the screener for the sequel at the beginning of the week, I wasn’t dreading it.
“You probably remember me — I’m Stacy, that baker from Chicago,” Hudgens announces in opening narrations.
Remember you? Girl, it’s been, like, two days — of COURSE I remember you! But that isn’t to say I didn’t miss you!
(Man, I gotta get it together.)
OK, so, like, here’s the setup: While Stacy is now happily married to Prince Edward of Belgravia (Sam Palladio of “Nashville”), Margaret couldn’t make things work with Stacy’s longtime best friend, single dad and all-around-great guy Kevin (Nick Sagar, “Shadowhunters”).
OMG — so sad! They
seemed so good together.
Apparently, the king of Montenaro died, and his son wasn’t interested in the gig, which left the dutiful Mags next in line for the throne. Well, the prospect of a royal life was too much for Kevin, it seems.
With Margaret’s Christmas Day coronation fast approaching, Stacy’s mind is more on her seemingly not-so-distant relative and less on her own marriage, which concerns her husband.
“She just sounded so sad when I called her,” a distracted Margaret says to Edward as he hints at having some, well, meaningful time with her.
Margaret decides that she will fetch Kevin and his daughter, Olivia (now played by Mia Lloyd), to go with Edward and her to Montenaro in the hopes of getting her friends back together.
And, wouldn’t you know it, with the gang back together, the ladies gin up another scheme involving Stacy pretending to be Margaret, this time so Margaret can get away for a bit.
LOL. Classic Stacy and Margaret.
Sure, they’re old pros at this now, but what they didn’t consider is Margaret’s party-girl cousin, Fiona (also Hudgens), a blond with champagnefetching minions and an eye on the throne. Other than the hair, she’s a dead ringer for Margaret — better keep an eye on her. Things could get complicated.
And then there’s Margaret’s chief-of-staff and longtime friend, Antonio (Lachlan Nieboer), who’s suddenly professing great feelings for her. (Wait, who exactly does this guy — who’s, um, not Kevin! — think he is? I don’t trust him.)
Like the first movie, “Switched Again” is directed by Mike Rohl and written by Robin Bernheim Burger and Megan Metzzer. And, like “The Princess Switch,” it’s a shiny, lowstress affair with that made-for-TV feel at a time when the lines between bigand small-screen entertainment have never been more blurred. (It, too, has no rating from the Motion Picture Association.)
As with many a sequel, “Switched Again” doesn’t feel as fresh as the first movie — and, if we’re being serious for a second, there was nothing in the way of a true surprise to be found the first time around. These are very predictable movies designed for the whole family, and that’s fine.
It’s hard not to be at least a little impressed with Hudgens (“Bad Boys for Life,” “Rent: Live”), for her work as the different characters and for her general likability as both Stacy and Margaret (if not that duplicitous Fiona!). In both movies, she is on screen far more often than she isn’t, and they wouldn’t work if she weren’t so pleasant.
So Netflix … we doing another one of these or what?
I’m, er, obviously asking for … the daughter of a friend. (Yes, that should stick.)
OK, I’d better see if there’s a football game on and a beer in the fridge. This place won’t get any dirtier on its own.