Streaming Services: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: The Princess Switch: Switched
Again (2020)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Length: 96 minutes
Rating: TV-G
Production/Distribution: Netflix, Motion Picture Corporation of America, Brad
Krevoy Television
Director: Mike Rohl
Writers: Robin Bernheim, Megan Metzger
Actors: John Jack, Vanessa Hudgens, Sam
Palladio, Mark Fleischmann, Mia Lloyd, Nick Sagar, Suanne Braun, Lachlan
Nieboer, Ricky Norwood, Florence Hall, Michelle Chantelle Hopewell, Giles
Taylor, Juliet Cadzow, Ewan Somers, Sandy Welch, Rose McIver, Ben Lamb
Blurb from IMDb: When Duchess Margaret
unexpectedly inherits the throne to Montenaro and hits a rough patch with
Kevin, it's up to her double Stacy to save the day before a new lookalike,
party girl Fiona foils their plans.
I have been super excited to watch The Princess Switch: Switched Again. I absolutely adored the first
movie, and I was intrigued as to what angle they’d take for the sequel to
ensure this wasn’t just another rinse and repeat of the original swap-up tale.
While the film starts off appearing to follow the same sort
of trajectory, don’t worry. There are plot twists aplenty as events progress. The key to enjoying these movies, however, is to just let go of judgment and just have fun with it. It's a fairytale full of the First World Problems of fictional royals, after all.
I definitely want to tip my hat to Vanessa Hudgens (Polar, The Knight Before Christmas, Bad Boys
for Life) for her triple roles here. Each character was nuanced and
distinct, even while switching with each other. She evoked changes in carriage,
demeanor, and speech that were each unique. You don’t often find actors that
can pull that off so flawlessly. Of course, there are a few outstanding examples
– such as Tatiana Maslany’s (Destroyer,
3Below: Tales of Arcadia, Perry Mason) 14 on-screen clones in Orphan Black (2013-2017).
Thankfully, Hudgens only had to juggle 3 look-alikes. I find she’s often underrated as an actor, due to her beginnings with Disney, appearances in movies such as this, as well as off-the-wall projects. All the same, she’s one of those that I’d watch, regardless of the nature of the project she’s involved with.
According to IMDb, there seems to be a third movie in the works. I have no idea how the production team is going to raise the bar without too much redundancy in the concept – but I’m eagerly anticipating finding out what they have up their sleeves.
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 40%
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 5.3/10