As the third and final entry in The Princess Switch franchise, this film sought to close out the long-running threads introduced with Princess Stacy and Duchess (now Queen) Margaret, with the latter’s cousin Fiona along for the ride on a bid to redeem herself. Once more, Vanessa Hudgens portrays all three characters and, like its predecessors, offers a balance between the doppelgänger’s storylines.
As a trilogy, it also becomes equally clear that each film focused primarily on one of the three characters (even if Fiona wasn’t introduced until Switched Again). To that end, Romancing the Star serves as Fiona’s outing.
At its core, much like A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby, the third entry in that franchise, a significant item is stolen – this time, the Star of Peace, a gift to Montenaro from the Vatican to serve as the centerpiece of its international Christmas festival. With its theft, Stacy and Margaret approach Fiona, who is currently working as a custodian at an orphanage while on probation. Margaret offers to put in a good word if Fiona helps them, granting her numerous opportunities to betray them and restore her former wealth. With her case about to be brought forth before the Disciplinary Board right after Christmas, the film presents a duality of choice. Fiona can fall back onto her old character and exploit Margaret and Stacy’s trust and goodwill, or she can evolve as a person.
Because of their centrality, Fiona and Peter (Remy Hii) and their story push Stacy, Margaret, Edward (Sam Palladio), and Kevin (Nick Sagar) to the sidelines. While not diminished entirely, each character does play their part. Their roles are not as meatier as they were in the first (or even the second) film. Fiona approaches Peter, a disgraced former Interpol Officer, to help her figure out who stole the Star of Peace – ultimately settling on Hunter Cunard (Will Kemp). Hunter is suave and manipulative and has a penchant for stealing priceless antiquities to fill out his art collection. With money, influence, and power, alongside a heavily guarded and surveilled estate, it takes the efforts of the leading and supporting cast to execute a heist to retrieve the Star.
Romancing the Star focuses on the duality of right and wrong and whether redemption can be sought, not to mention earned. Peter Maxwell and Fiona’s arcs are tethered to these themes, with Peter’s disgrace (not entirely touched on in the film) and Fionas’ morally questionable decisions (especially those she made in Switched Again) leading to them not trusting one another entirely. On top of that, their own allies (Margaret and Stacy), while trying to give Fiona the benefit of the doubt, allow their opinions to be colored based on past actions and associations. Whether or not they can be trusted comes back to bite everybody after the heist – when the Star is missing, and nobody knows who to blame.
Fiona, as the central character, shines throughout the entire film – proving that even those who fall along the way can pick themselves back up if they are given the chance and the support system they need to do so.
As with the previous two entries, the switch is once again a major plot point. While preparing for the heist, Reggie (Ricky Norwood), one of Fiona’s two minions – the other being Mindy (Florence Hall) – injures himself, necessitating Margaret stepping in as Fiona for the public portion of their heist. Margeret’s job is to distract Hunter, which means she has to become Fiona – a woman that Hunter is very much interested in and has charmed to be invited to the party in the first place. This frees Fiona up to directly aid Peter (by replacing Reggie in the actual heist) but presents a challenging issue when Fiona’s parole review hearing is moved up. This forces Stacy to take on Fiona’s identity, too, so that Fiona does not miss her hearing, with Stacy and Edward trusting that Fiona will not betray them. Which, of course, would result in Stacy taking Fiona’s place in captivity.
Kevin and Edward’s roles in the film are strikingly smaller than their reduced roles in the second film – where the pair were at least tied to their romantic relationships being restrengthened. Kevin spends much of the film ensuring that the festivities for the festival continue unimpeded, showing that he has moved past needing to be directly involved in every aspect of Margaret’s life. He is a steadying presence whose more minor role allowed for more focus on Fiona’s redemptive arc and Peter Maxwell’s fiery introduction. In contrast, Edward has a bit more to do when he and Stacy jet off to ensure Fiona is not punished for her good deed. The pair still feel like they’re only there to fill out the cast at this point – because they were so integral to the first entry, with the focus on the three leads (played by Hudgens) and their switch always taking first place. This is, in and of itself, not a bad thing. What worked for The Princess Switch and Switched Again was its dedication to its main gimmick. Why abandon what has clearly worked so well?
Peter’s role is centered on ensuring that Fiona doesn’t backslide – he takes significant risks to help her push herself into being the best version of who she can be. If only she were to get out of her own way. That takes incredible dedication and a bit of misdirection to get her to admit that she doesn’t have to be miserable. That her past doesn’t need to define her future. In the face of Hunter’s crimes, Fiona can glimpse who she once was as a person. In contrast, next to Stacy, Margaret, Kevin, Edward, and Peter, she can get a glimpse of who she can be if she is willing to take that first big step.
One major new character is Bianca (Amanda Donohoe), Fiona’s mother. Their strained relationship features throughout the background of the story throughout the film. Bianca’s dismissive and critical attitude towards Fiona informs much of why Fiona is who she is. Fiona has been desperate to get over her mother having abandoned her years ago. Still, the pain of that abandonment has never indeed left her. Peter tries to bring Bianca and Fiona together as one final goodwill gesture. However, this is more for Fiona’s sake and future than Bianca’s.
The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star is a fun continuation of the trilogy, and while it shifts its focus to Fiona – who, let’s be honest, proved to be the breakout character because of just how different she is from Margaret and Stacy, not to mention the kinds of characters that Vaness Hudgens is known for playing. At the end of the day, it doesn’t have to be a serious film to be enjoyable, but the emotional stakes at play (with Christmas, as always, as a backdrop) are immense, and the payoff is entirely worth it.
Lloydd Marshall Books 