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'The Princess Switch'

I watch so as you may not have to.

By Q-ell BettonPublished 5 years ago 4 min read
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It is the end of May and, here in the UK, summer is struggling to appear. Somewhat overwhelmed by the violence and darkness of some of the content I have been watching on Netflix of late, I decided to watch a Christmas film. Yes, I realise it is a little bit out of season but, for the most part, Christmas films are unfailingly uplifting and it stars the luminous Vanessa Hudgens.

Hudgens takes on dual roles in the enjoyable but frankly silly, The Princess Switch. She plays Stacy De Novo, a talented baker from Chicago and Lady Margaret Delacourt, a duchess soon to be married to Prince Edward (Sam Palladio) of Belgravia.

Stacy runs a bakery in Chicago along with her good friend of twelve years, Kevin (Nick Sagar). When Kevin’s young daughter, Olivia (Alexa Adeosun) comes into the shop, she prompts her father to tell Stacy about a surprise they have for her. She has been invited to a competition to bake for the royal family in Belgravia. Stacy is reluctant to close the shop and go to the contest. She likes to plan things and the spontaneity of the venture gives her pause.

When she runs into her ex-boyfriend, Paul (Ashley Emerson) and his new girlfriend, Taylor (Calli Taylor), and finds out that Paul is taking her to see his parents, asked what she is doing for the holidays by Paul’s new girlfriend, she decides to head to Belgravia for the Christmas contest. Stacy, Kevin, and Olivia head to Belgravia.

Two Hudgens' are better than one.

When they get to Belgravia, Stacy, always wanting to be organised, insist they head to the venue in Wembley to prepare for the competition. Whilst at the venue, Stacy runs into an old baking rival, Brianna (Amy Griffiths) who deliberately spills coffee on her apron. Stacy goes to clean up and bumps into Lady Margaret. They both notice their uncanny resemblance.

The Duchess asks Stacy to come to the palace to help pick a wedding cake. Stacy agrees, thinking that she is there to help with the cake. The Duchess has a different idea. She wants to swap places with Stacy for a couple of days. After an initial reluctance, Stacy is persuaded to swap with the proviso that Olivia gets a ballet scholarship. The two ladies swap.

With the Duchess and the prince virtual strangers, their families having created the alliance, Stacy finds it not too difficult to pass herself off as the soon-to-be princess. Margaret finds it a little more difficult, falling at the first hurdle with Olivia realising that she is not who she says she is.

As they try to take over one another’s lives, Stacy is aided by the Duchess’ lady-in-waiting, Mrs Donatelli (Susanne Braun) and Margaret by Olivia. Edward’s father, King George (Pavel Douglas), is a little unsure of Margaret and has his driver, Frank (Mark Fleischmann) watch her. Elsewhere, Margaret is falling for Kevin, much to the delight of Olivia.

Stacy goes to a charity ball with Edward and impresses him with her character. He begins to fall for her. Stacy persuades Edward to visit the charity that his parents support, in an effort to be more hands-on with the community.

Margaret and Kevin watch a film and get amorous. Margaret stops, not wanting to confuse the situation. The two days are completed and she has to swap back with Stacy. They meet at the palace to swap lives back. As they talk, they realise that each is in love with the man in the other one’s life. Frank, still spying, photographs the two women together.

Frank goes to give the photos to the king, but the photos are intercepted by queen Caroline (Sara Stewart). The queen pretends to be sick and sends Margaret and Edward to cake competition, knowing that Stacy will be there. Margaret tells Edward what has happened and they go to the competition.

At the competition, even though Brianna tried to sabotage her, Stacy wins. She is ecstatic until she hears that Edward and Margaret are presenting the prize. Kevin forces her to accept the prize with him. Kevin sees both of them together for the first time and realises he was with Margaret.

They swap lives and live happily ever after. The end.

What the hey...?!

The Princess Switch is a silly, silly film, with a ludicrous ending. But truthfully, who cares? It is just feel good fun and a complete fairytale of a film. A premise done so many times in film, the identical person’s swap is a well-worn trope in cinema. From 1937’s The Prince and the Pauper to the Hayley Mills starrer, The Parent Trap, the switching of different lives have always held a fascination in film.

Putting the genre niche into a rom-com, Christmas context is just a reason to work some easy comic situation around a mildly interesting premise. Hudgens is good in both roles, with the script by Robin Bernheim and Megan Metzger, even sending her up, as she portrays the duchess with a British accent. The two male leads are good, though truthfully are not required to do much more than be there for the Hudgens’ duchess or baker.

The film is standard Christmas fare in every other way. There is snow, a perennial air of happiness, a spirit of love and giving and everything picture perfect. Directed by Mike Nohl, it looks and does exactly what you expect it to.

The Princess Switch is not going to win any awards anytime soon and is just an average film. It is not a bad film and is enjoyable enough to watch on a festive afternoon after some overindulgence.

After the true classics of Christmas—Elf, Die Hard, A Christmas Carol—to mention a few, I would say The Princess Switch is probably a nice second tier film to laze in front of.

I got my prince!

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About the Creator

Q-ell Betton

I write stuff. A lot.

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