Building off of what worked before is always the best bet when it comes to sequels. The Princess Switch is centered around Vanessa Hudgens, who has maintained a solid career since her High School Musical days, so it’s not in the least shocking that Netflix doubled (or in this case, tripled) down on her for The Princess Switch: Switched Again.
This time, Vanessa Hudgens is pulling triple duty, reprising her doublegangers Stacy De Novo, who has since become the Princess Stacy of Belgravia, and Margaret Delacourt, the Queen-to-be of Montenaro. But, a new character is thrown into the mix, once again played by Hudgens: Fiona Pembroke. Who is, well, broke. Including The Knight Before Christmas, four doppelgangers are floating around Netflix’s Christmas Cinematic Universe. I could do with a few more. With so many roles to juggle and the core concept of the film, we get to watch Vanessa Hudgens play various identities – Stacy masquerading as Margaret, Margaret masquerading as Stacy, and Fiona masquerading as Margaret without realizing that she is actually masquerading as Stacy masquerading as Margaret. It feels like there should have been a masquerade ball. With that in mind, Hudgens makes each character feel unique, something that actors can find challenging when it’s just two characters – let alone three with all the drama involved.
Picking up two years after The Princess Switch, which seemed set to have a fairytale ending for both prominent couples, Stacy and Prince Edward Wyndham (Sam Palladio), and Margaret and Kevin Richards (Nick Sagar) – but where the former pair flourished after their romance in the first film, the latter fizzled out due in part to the repercussions of the death of the King of Montenaro, and his son Howard’s sudden decision to abdicate. Tragedy and coincidence mixed with Margaret’s strong sense of duty, prompting her to fall back on old habits. With Nick feeling out of place and Margaret unable to articulate her feelings effectively, their relationship fell apart in the intervening years. Yet, Stacy, knowing her best friend’s heart and having grown extremely close with Margaret since their initial meeting, decides to intervene. The first step involves getting Kevin to Montenaro ahead of the coronation so that he and Margaret might have a chance to rekindle their relationship.
Unlike the first film, where Margaret’s reasons for the switch were a bit more aligned with her own self-interests to understand Belgravia before marrying into its royal family, and thus they could not reveal the switch to anybody to keep the secret safe, this time communication plays a massive role. Stacy and Edward have a good relationship, though it has stagnated because of how good it is (official couple syndrome, anybody?), but also because Edward has difficulty expressing his feelings. Still, she trusts him implicitly and refuses to make the switch without ensuring that Edward and Kevin are in on it from the beginning. This is where the significant complications arise, tied to Fiona’s arrival and her plan to step in and take control of Montenaro to solve her financial woes.
Unlike the kind and passionate Stacy and the refined and dutiful Margaret, Fiona Pembroke is a woman of extravagance and pure selfishness. She is glorious as a villain, something the previous film relied on Edward’s driver Frank De Luca (Mark Fleischmann) for, who was only doing what the King of Belgravia requested of him. Because this is part of the Netflix Christmas Cinematic Universe, the rule of family is at play; however, while Fiona is an antagonistic force throughout the film, redemption is an option for her. It even extends to her two minions, Reggie (Ricky Norwood) and Mindy (Florence Hall), both of whom serve for comedic relief. After all, their dedication to Fiona’s plan blinds them to their ineptitude. Still, it’s also easy to admit that poor timing doomed their plan. Fiona can think on the fly and take explicit advantage of the switch she was previously unaware of, blocking Margaret from actively reclaiming her true identity, all to keep the scheme going until she can become Queen and solve her financial issues.
As minions, they aren’t the most noble of characters – yet Reggie and Mindy, like Fiona, are destined for a better path. As a comedic duo struggling to be evil, it softens the consequences of their misdeeds. It shows them as misguided rather than evil.
Beyond rebuilding her relationship with Kevin, Margaret’s role centers on her sense of duty and what it has led her to. Within days, she will be crowned the Queen of Montenaro. This position had not been within her reach during her tenure as the Duchess of Montenaro. Still, when duty called, Margaret answered. Her devotion to Montenaro seems to be key to why Howard might have abdicated (as a character who doesn’t appear, we can only glimpse his thoughts through the brief mentions made of him). Because she viewed her royal duties as taking precedence, she didn’t want to put that on Kevin. She ended their relationship, but it has left her deeply unhappy, which Mrs. Donatelli (Suanne Braun) notices and strives to help her.
While Edward had a much more significant presence in the first film, especially compared to Kevin, both men fall short in the same regard because the film is dedicated to the “switch.” Yet, Margaret and Kevin’s efforts to rebuild their relationship form a strong subplot, bringing the two together at Santa’s Village. Their love, and that of Edward and Stacy, remains a strong aspect of The Princess Switch. While they could have been given more precise arcs beyond their relationships, that wasn’t the story’s point. Sometimes, that’s okay, even if it can be grating. Despite that, their emotional journey forms the crux of their plots, tying them into the craziness of the switch, which forces them to work through their emotional distress.
Edward, for his part, feels as if Stacy’s dedication to being a good princess and her efforts at helping Margaret have left him on the sidelines – but he doesn’t know how to articulate his feelings, something he shares with Margaret.
When the time comes, and they can work through their relationship issues, coming out stronger in the end, Edward is part of the group that rescues Stacy from Fiona’s hilariously incompetent minions.
Kevin has taken over the bakery that he and Stacy shared, showing that he still enjoys his work, even if it has lost some of its luster since his breakup with Margaret. His journey towards reconciliation with Margaret takes up much of their story, but its conclusion is worth every second of heartache.
Olivia Richards (Mia Lloyd, taking over for Alexa Adeosun) returns, hoping to see her father, Kevin, and Margaret reunite. Having matured since the previous film, she has a better understanding of why her father and Stacy couldn’t be together, and when Margaret appeared in their lives, Olivia found in Margaret a woman worthy of admiration. For all the best reasons, Margaret is the woman and mother that Olivia wanted in her life. She is keen to have Stacy and Margaret switch. She is a key conspirator in the plan because, for her, this means her father will be happy, and her family can be complete.
While the NCCU is more a loose conglomerate of films that mention vague details about one another or feature major or supporting characters in minor cameos (Rose McIver and Ben Lamb show up as Queen Amber and King Richard of Aldovia in this film during the coronation at its conclusion), it seems this is merely Netflix’s way of having a bit of fun, rather than truly committing to what it could mean if they really leaned into it. If Netflix leaned into the concept more fully, the possibilities for crossover storylines or a shared narrative universe could create even more delightful connections for fans.
At less than an hour and 40 minutes, a common limitation of the Rom-Com genre is the runtime, which often leaves certain arcs (like Kevin and Edward’s) feeling underdeveloped. However, this doesn’t detract from the film’s core strengths. The Princess Switch: Switched Again builds off the strengths of its previous entry and delivers a soft-hearted, entertaining story built on hijinks and a fairly understandable formula. But formulas exist for a reason, granting us a familiarity to fall back on and not overanalyze.
Vanessa Hudgens offers a genuinely enjoyable and engaging performance across three characters, showing how they must act under certain scenarios. As a holiday movie, Christmas is at its core, providing the kind of levity that this type of warm-hearted story relies on to explore its silliness with bouts of drama. A good formula needs the right ingredients, and The Princess Switch: Switched Again blends them into a holiday treat that’s as sweet and satisfying as it is fun.
Lloydd Marshall Books 