The Princess Switch – Summary/ Review (with Spoilers)
The Princess Switch is a little cringey at times, in a comical way, and definitely is a must if you are into holiday movies.
Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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The Princess Switch is a little cringey at times, in a comical way, and definitely is a must if you are into holiday movies.
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| Director(s) | Mike Rohl | |
| Written By | Robin Bernheim Burger, Megan Metzger | |
| Date Released | 11/16/2018 | |
| Genre(s) | Holiday, Romance, Comedy | |
| Good If You Like | Cute, Borderline Cheesy, Romances
Romance Films Involved Royalty Two Opposites Switching Identities, and The Hijinks Which Follows Films Which Don’t Dwell On The Sad Points Of A Person’s Life |
|
| Noted Cast | ||
| Stacy/ Margaret | Vanessa Hudgens | |
| Edward | Sam Palladio | |
| Kevin | Nick Sagar | |
| Olivia | Alexa Adeosun | |
| Kindly Man | Robin Soans | |
| Frank | Mark Fleischmann | |
| King George | Pavel Douglas | |
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Summary (Ending on 2nd Page)
What does a Chicago based baker and a duchess have in common? Apparently, a distant cousin. This relative allows Stacy, a person who likes planning and order, to swap places with a duchess while the two are both in Belgravia. For Stacy, she is in Belgravia thanks to her best friend of 12 years, Kevin, signing them up for an international baking competition. As for Margaret? Well, she is there to marry Prince Edward.
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However, with Margaret having lived her life out of duty for her home country, which she has had to be head of state because of her parents’ death, she wants just a few days of normalcy. In exchange from this sudden acquaintance who looks just like her, she gets to live the royal life. Naturally, both deal with some bumps in trying to pretend to be the other but it seems they end up finding what they
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Who was the Kindly Man (as noted in the credits) supposed to be exactly?
Collected Quote(s) or .Gifs
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
— Stacy
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Highlights
The Romance
This is the kind of film which will lead you to happy tears. Not because of your usual, “My parents are dead” thing, which seems to really be a staple of Christmas movies, but the romance. OH MY GOD! Now, while I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest Vanessa Hudgens fan, I did technically grow up with her work as part of my younger years through High School Musical. However, since then she has done Spring Breakers, Gimme Shelter, and the recent Dog Days. Showing that she is definitely more diverse than many an actress out of the Disney machine. Especially in recent times.
Which isn’t a lead up to say her role as Stacy/ Margaret is breathtaking. If anything, her charm is in overload and she brings something slightly different to the role. Usually in romance films, for me anyway, there is this idea that you are being sold something you’d want. Something which would be #Goals! In the case of The Princess Switch, it felt like you are supposed to root for Stacy/Margaret the same way Olivia would. Not because of some hard life either had, but simply because you wanted them to be happy.
Something that seemed strange to me since usually the lead is going through something. If it isn’t a dead end job, it is a major failure. Maybe even mourning over someone. Neither Stacy nor Margaret had something which was really holding them back. I mean, Stacy had an ex who she was feeling down about but she had her own shop, was invited to an international banking competition, and had a goddaughter who made her very happy. Then with Margaret, while both of her parents were dead, it wasn’t treated as something which made her lonesome or present any issues with socializing. It was something which happened in life, and while she isn’t over it, it isn’t something which keeps her from genuinely smiling.
As for the men? Honestly, as adorable as Kevin is, and Edward is okay, Hudgens does most of the heavy lifting. Like for most men, all the guys are tasked with is not saying anything stupid to remain attractive. You know, just say the right thing at the right moment, kiss when it is perfect to do so, and just follow the lead – which they both do.
Olivia’s Place In The Film
I appreciate Olivia’s role in this. She isn’t made to be tragic, isn’t there to push how lonely her dad is, she is just a kid enjoying time with her dad and godmother. On top of that, she asks the question that needs to be asked. Such as, how you two get along for 12 years and nothing happen? Olivia’s 8, why is her mom not named Stacy? Which Kevin answers.
On The Fence
Frank and King George – In Terms of the Ending
It’s a Christmas movie so I’m sure you know how this’ll end. However, with that said, I’m surprised how Frank and King George acted after all was revealed. Especially considering the way they acted for the majority of the movie.
Overall: Positive (Worth Seeing) | Only on Netflix
What I love about this film, and which sets it apart, is it recognizes something bad happened but doesn’t dwell on it. Nothing about this film is about inspiring sympathy. It’s about actually being in the place where you are ready to move on and seemingly have handled the trauma of the past. Be it by compartmentalizing or just learning the lesson which needed to be learned. Making it so be it the romance, the new adventures, what have you, they can be approached with a healthy level of skepticism. Rather than it being a full-on, “Well, time to push someone out of their comfort zone – off a cliff.”
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Summary
The Romance - 83%
Olivia’s Place In The Film - 82%
Frank and King George – In Terms of the Ending - 75%
80%
While The Princess Switch features a lot of very familiar tropes of Christmas movies, the way it is written uses said tropes solely for familiarity and nothing more. Thus giving us a holiday movie which is traditional just enough to make you comfortable, but open to exploring something a tad bit different.
