It’s a day for sequels. I watched both Avengers Infinity War and Endgame, and now we’re back to this world of bakeries, Belgravia, the Duchess of Montenaro, and implausible lookalikes. I do admire Vanessa Hudgens, she does have talent, and has risen above her High School Musical roots very nicely. Plus she played a great Rizzo in that Grease Live. So let’s dive in to The Princess Switch 2, Switched Again!
We get backstory and recap all in one during the opening credits, and I would like to understand how the royal system of Montenaro works, because if Margaret is a Duchess, but her dad was a King, shouldn’t she also be a Princess who is next in line for the throne? It’s quirks like this that drive me insane…and I’m currently reading a book about Queen Victoria’s grandchildren, and their royal titles are also very confusing. Plus they’re all named Albert or Victoria, it seems. But I’m digressing and we’re not even a minute in. Because Margaret is next in line, her romance with the hot baker from Chicago went kaputz.
We open with the baking competition, where Stacey is now Princess Stacey and judging the competition instead of competing. Her husband shows up just in time to see Stacey award a German guy for a tiered cake decorated with mistletoe. Cut to Stacey and Edward in their bedroom that has 4 Christmas trees in it.
Edward and Stacey need more time to connect, but they’re so busy. They are looking forward to going to Montenaro for Christmas, where Margaret is getting some bad press before she heads to the coronation on Christmas Day. And we also find out that Margaret’s cousin abdicated, and it wasn’t her dad that died, so that’s why she’s got the job. Ooooh, Edward is totally looking for some night time fun but Stacey is too worried about Margaret, and now she just ditched sexy time in order to go to Chicago in order to get Kevin on a plane to get back together with Margaret.
Kevin’s poured all his post-breakup feelings into baking, and he’s got an open-air cupcake display that doesn’t seem hygienic or conducive to fresh cupcakes. Stacey will not take no for an answer even though Kevin is wallowing in sweat pants and cats and cupcakes, and he gets on the plane after a haircut.
Montenaro’s royal palace looks like Blenheim, but was actually a castle in Romania. Everyone shows up and Margaret greets them in the driveway. Hudgen’s British accent for a country that is not England is not bad. A bit too stuffy, but whatever. The palace is full of marble, but is in need of Christmas cheer, because Margaret is not ready to live in this museum. Before you can say montage they’re decking the halls with a lot of lights and way too much garland. Where did it all come from? Why aren’t there staff to do all this work? Doesn’t Margaret have leading the country duties? Probably not, and neither does Edward, because he and Kevin are there to bring in trees on a horse-drawn carriage.
Once they’re done admiring the overdecor, Kevin’s daughter Olivia maneuvers Kevin and Margaret into making hot chocolate. Again, staff? It looks like they all disappeared and left a multitude of food half-prepared. But that doesn’t stop them from getting into a flour fight until they are interrupted by Antonio, her chief of staff, who looks weasely, but who is there for her, whenever she needs him, and he’s icky, but then they get interrupted by Stacey, who acts weird. She’s a freaking Royal Princess and she’s weird.
Margaret has to learn how to be a leader on her own, but I think she’s just too enamored of her very scary room. Stacey is there to try and figure out what’s the deal with Margaret and Tony, because she’s got all her eggs in the Kevin basket. Apparently there’s a Christmas ball, and it’s not even 15 minutes into the movie! How did we get so lucky? And there’s 2 guys dancing together and looking happy! Yay! Everyone has cleaned up nice and we introduce Her Royal Highness, Lady Margaret and what is she wearing? Stacey pushes Kevin to ask Margaret to dance, and he sweeps in to steal her away from Weasel face, so you know that’s not going to be a good thing down the line.
Kevin and Margaret’s love life got messed with when she inherited the crown, and now there’s no spontenaity in her life. But before she can breathe and accept a nice compliment from Kevin, in walks Vanessa Hudgens in a blonde wig and pants and 2 Eurotrash sycophants. She’s Fiona Pembroke, whose dad died of a peanut allergy, and it’s clear that Hudgens is having a wonderful time eating all the scenery in this movie. Backstory is that Fiona has no more money, but one estate and her Eurotrash minions are pickpockets in order to keep Fiona in Dior.
Girl Minion asks why Fiona can’t be the one to inherit, and thus we have a plot brewing! But we can’t get there before Margaret escapes in a cape coat to go driving with Kevin, until they get blocked by Weaselman. Kevin is nice and supportive but does he know that Weaselman is inventing things to keep her away from him? He should. Weaselman got her on her own in order to profess his love with a diamond bracelet. She says she’s confused about everything, and he tries to be nice but he’s just gross.
Stacey says Kevin’s the one, but Margaret is softly upset about it all, and wonders why love should be such work. But before we get a resolution, Weaselman has called Kevin to the billiard room to say Kevin’s not good enough / not fair to Margaret. Weaselman, however, correctly points out that a baker from Chicago doesn’t know much about statecraft, and in the end, is that good enough for a Queen? However, they’re overheard by daughter Olivia, who heads over to Stacey to save the day. The plans is for Stacey and Margaret to switch places so Margaret can spend some time with Kevin and Stacey can go to a Christmas concert. What will happen to Stacey’s husband during all of this? She’s not going to tell him, and she’s lying to him, and all he wants is to spend time with his wife.
Cut to Fiona’s place where the scheme is set for Fiona to switch with Margaret until the coronation, so she can transfer some money into a Cayman Island account. Girl Minion is in charge of getting Margaret away from the whole deal while Fiona does her thing. She gets the details out of Prince Edward on Margaret’s schedule and she’s off for her makeover time. It’s a triple montage! (Fiona’s minions do not know anything about anything and I love them).
Edward thinks Stacey is Margaret, and is pouring his heart to her about how his marriage is suffering because they have no time together anymore. It’s a sweet moment, where Stacey is realizing what a peach she married, even though she’s currently lying to him. Olivia then pops up to distract Edward even more while Stacey-as-Margaret heads out to a Christmas Concert. Margaret as Stacey shows up at a Christmas village thing, where Kevin is waiting. It’s a deserted Christmas village. I am waiting for Scooby Doo to show up.
Olivia then accuses Edward of being a helicopter husband, who hovers, and that’s his biggest fear so of course he believes her and now he’s distracted for the rest of the night. All the more time for Fiona and her minions to put their plan into play at the concert hall.
But before we get to the nefarious deeds of Fiona and friends, Kevin and Margaret get to build snowmen and find out what they want in their lives. Margaret wants to be queen, and Kevin is ok with that, but he doesn’t want to hold her back. But Margaret LOVES Kevin. They’re going to give themselves as a couple another chance, and we know it’s for real because we heard magic chimes.
Reception at the concert and the minions’ plan works and Stacey as Margaret is chloroformed out and in the back of a VW van, while Fiona as Margaret heads back into the reception, where she storms out but not before she insults some past friend of Margaret. Man this is getting confusing. Stacey ends up in a cellar with a raging headache. Guess you wish you told your husband what you were doing now, huh, Stacey?
Fiona’s back in Margaret’s rooms and is playing with all the jewels when Margaret shows back up. Margaret is all happy about Kevin, but Fiona is annoyed AF about this snag, and now she’s trying to gaslight Margaret into thinking that Margaret is actually Stacey. And Margaret just takes it and leaves her room, while Fiona calls the minions to say there’s a problem. Minions say move up the Coronation to Christmas Eve, but first, Fiona is going to break Kevin’s heart.
Margaret heads to talk to Edward and now more people are in on the switching secret, but Edward is still befuddled about the whole three lookalike thing. But before we can figure that out, Fiona as Margaret does the heartbreaking with Kevin. Kevin won’t come back if he leaves, you know!
Meanwhile, Stacey is in the basement in Fiona’s tacky disco ball dress. She seems to have some kind of idea of how to get out involving barrels. As Kevin leaves in a taxi, there’s some kind of magical man as the driver. There’s something up about that guy, because there were more magical chimes. It also takes Margaret, Edward, and the two loyal servants a helluva long time to figure out that Fiona is the one upstairs. However, Weaselman figures it out in a second because Fiona has a finger tattoo; however he’s all about the money, and asks to be cut into the Fiona caper and Margaret doesn’t have to know.
In the basement, Guy Minion brings Stacey a ham and cheese sandwich and then she flattens him with the barrel. She gets away and runs away just as Edward and company show up to break down the door. Edwards punches the boy minion in the face and Edward and Stacey are back together. Awww. He promises he won’t be a helicopter. She says she’ll always have time for him.
The rushed coronation is starting. But just as it gets going, Margaret shows up, and Weaselman shows his true colors and he gets arrested and thrown to the dungeon. Fiona tries to get out of her bad behavior with a half-hearted apology and it kind of works, at least, until after the coronation.
At the airport, the magic man in the cab drops Kevin and Olivia off, and Kevin recognizes him, and was it Santa? This airport is amazingly nice for a tiny country in vague Europe. Kevin and Margaret reunite and Margaret pops the question to thunderous applause in the overly decorated terminal. Luckily, there’s also a priest in the terminal, so they can get married at Gate 59. There’s mistletoe in the airport. They have to rush because priesty has a flight to London to catch. And Kevin has a ring that he bought last summer! In between flight calls, they are married.
Next stop, Coronation. Edward looks spiffy in his uniform, and he and Stacey get a minute to reset about what’s important, you know, they’re in love too, and now it’s time for a procession in a very decorated cathedral. King and Queen and baby from A Christmas Prince (reminder, watch the other 2. And also, I forgot that the main guy in those movies isn’t handsome) show up!
Margaret is speed-walking down the aisle in a very nice dress with her maids of honor to get to her crowning. Her scepter is like a fairy wand. Her crown stays on her head amazingly well, and Long Live the Queen. Husband wants to know what that makes Kevin, and the answer is, at this moment, it makes him Kevin, the Queen’s Husband. Until she decides to give him a title. Fiona attends the ceremony with parole officers in tow and we’re done. Will we get a Princess Switch 3 with Fiona finding love? Only time will tell!
This was fun. It was silly and improbable, but I loved every minute of it. It also had everything – makeovers, decorations, vague European countries with British accents, Eurotrash, and Princes. It’s like someone put everything I like in a blender and mixed it all up just for me. And as I said, Vanessa Hudgens has a lot of talent, and good for her. I’m glad she’s doing well. Please watch these two movies, if you want, because they were delightful. If not, don’t worry, I’ll gladly do it, just so you don’t have to.
just_so_you_dont_have_to 