The Princess Switch Review: Vanessa Hudgens Puts a Christmas Twist on a Classic Storyline
I’m embarking on a little holiday experiment for Tell-Tale TV this year. I’m a self-proclaimed Grinch, but I always make some attempt to embrace the Christmas spirit. Usually, that means baking cookies or listening to one of the few Christmas songs I like on repeat.
I’m used to living on binges while TV is on hiatus. But this season, a few Christmas movie descriptions caught my eye enough to want to watch… and write about them.
One of them is The Princess Switch. The Parent Trap premise combined with a bit of royalty and a touch of baking sounds like a dream to this The Great British Baking Show fanatic. Add the guaranteed happy ending a Christmas movie promises but delete the word “Christmas” from the title and I’m sold.
I find Netflix Christmas movies a step above those on standard cable channels, though I haven’t decided why. They all follow the same formula for sure. Christmas cheer + Romance + minor conflict = every Christmas movie.
But maybe eliminating the pressure of commercial pauses and a designated time slot helps add a bit of depth. The movie does tell two romantic stories for the price of one actress… literally. Vanessa Hudgens plays both Chicago baker Stacy and Duchess Margaret of Montenaro.
I find these twin-switch type movies fascinating when one actress is doing all of the work. I’m not saying Hudgens in a Netflix movie full of tropes is Emmy worthy, but it takes a lot of work.
First of all, I’m no actress and I don’t exactly know how this works, but I hope she has a double in the scenes she does alone with herself. And then, if you gloss over the whole “playing two parts” deal, there’s still the business of chemistry.
Hudgens has enough with both Sam Palladio as Prince Edward and Nick Sagar as Stacy’s assistant Kevin. Nothing that makes the earth move and inspires a ship name and endless devotion — but that’s not what you watch a Christmas movie for.
The idea of a Duchess falling in love with a sous chef is especially charming. To dislike the royal life, to not be made for it, is not a trope Hollywood thrives on.
The Christmas genre in particular loves a good “American Governess becomes a Princess” trope, but that’s sort of flipped on its head with Kevin and Margaret. He doesn’t even know she’s a princess.
Even though the “switch” plot has been an anchor for some true classics, I must confess that dramatic irony drives me crazy. I’m on edge until at least one person finds out. So, I find it quite comforting that Mrs. Donatelli is in on the switch from the beginning and Olivia discovers it rather quickly.
This frees up valuable minutes for snowball fights, trips to the toy store, mistletoe moments and erm, you know, tea cup decorating — a classic Christmas activity in every household, I’m sure.
The movie can do without Stacy’s bitchy baking nemesis for sure… cutting the electric mixer cord so Stacy has to hand mash berries is just really stupid. There’s no other way to say it.
Stacy could easily have created an obstacle for herself. Spoiler Alert! Someone on The Great British Baking Show mistakes salt for sugar in the finale. The finale!
Just let Stacy get on with the win and let the reveal happen! But The Princess Switch is truly a delight all the way through. Anyone who says otherwise just doesn’t know how to watch a Christmas movie. Trust me… I’m an expert now.
What did you think of The Princess Switch? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Watch The Princess Switch now on Netflix!
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Esme Mazzeo
Esme Mazzeo is a lifestyle and entertainment journalist from Long Island. When she's not writing for work, she's writing for fun, or searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth. She thinks rainy days are the best kind of days. Certified night owl.