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The 14 Most Ridiculous Moments In The Princess Switch: Switched Again

Beyond the fact that Vanessa Hudgens plays three different characters.

Nick Sagar and Vanessa Hudgens in 'The Princess Switch: Switched Again' via the Netflix press site.
Netflix

Just when you thought Netflix had peaked in the ridiculousness of its original holiday movies with last year's A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby, Netflix has outdone itself with its latest sequel: The Princess Switch: Switched Again.

In case you somehow forgot, the plot of 2018's The Princess Switch follows American baker Stacy De Novo (Hudgens) and the coincidentally identical Duchess of the fictional European nation Montenaro, Margaret Delacourt (also Hudgens), as they switch places after a chance meeting. Stacy poses as the Duchess and falls in love with Edward, the prince of another fictional European nation, Belgravia. Margaret, meanwhile, falls for Stacy's BFF and baking partner, Kevin. In the end, the switch is revealed but the new relationships stay intact and everyone is happy.

Fast-forward to the sequel: Stacy and Edward are happily married, Margaret and Kevin have broken up, and Margaret is preparing to become Queen of Montenaro after the death of her father. Stacy comes up with a plan to switch places with Margaret again as part of a convoluted scheme to reunite her with Kevin, but threatening their plans is the arrival of third doppelgänger: Fiona (Hudgens), Margaret's spoiled cousin who is also looking to switch places with the new queen.

Now that you're all up to speed, here are the moments in The Princess Switch: Switched Again that are delightfully ludicrous. Spoilers to follow.

1

The Two Christmas Trees In Stacy & Edward's Bedroom

We get it, Stacy and Edward really like Christmas. But having the inside of their bedroom look like a holiday window display at Bergdorf Goodman is a bit much. And it goes without saying that no one needs a Christmas tree in the room where they sleep, let alone two.

2

The Kelly Clarkson Montage

In a movie that features several montages, this one stands out as the silliest. Margaret is so bummed, she hasn't put up any Christmas decorations in her castle (shouldn't she have staff who do that?). So to help her out, Stacy, Edward, Kevin, and Kevin's daughter Olivia decide to help her out. Clarkson's "Underneath the Tree" swells, and before you know it everyone is decking the halls — with Kevin and Margaret continuously exchanging knowing grins and longing stares. It's hilarious.

3

The Living Decorations

It goes without saying that our protagonists may have gone just a bit overboard with their holiday decorations. Exhibit A: The palace guards are now dressed as nutcrackers enclosed in cute little red boxes. With security like that, is it any wonder a princess gets kidnapped in this movie?

4

The Flour Fight

Another rom-com trope: an adorably impractical play-fight with something extremely messy. In this case, Kevin and Margaret decide to douse each other with flour because they don't know how to talk about their feelings like adults. Oh well, the maids will clean it up!

5

Fiona's Entrance

Pretty much everything about Fiona is absurd, from her accent, to her clothes, to her assistants. But her entrance in the film, complete with her own over-the-top theme music and exaggerated strut, wastes no time in establishing the character as someone who would never in a million years exist in real life.

6

Everyone Pretending Fiona Is Not Vanessa Hudgens

Even though the film's plot revolves around Fiona pulling off a switch with Margaret/Stacy, everyone in the movie still acts like she only kind of looks like her cousin. They're all like, "oh, there's a slight family resemblance," but this is laughable since, you know, she's literally the same person! It's not like Hudgens put on prosthetics to play Fiona, she just dyed her hair blonde.

7

Not Telling Edward About The Switch

Throughout the entire first act of the movie, Edward acts like a horny teenager. Every time he opens his mouth to Stacy, it's to insinuate them hopping in bed together. So it makes no sense when Margaret and Stacy decide not to tell him that they've switched again, knowing that he could try to put the moves on Margaret at the drop of a hat. Thankfully, he doesn't, by why run that risk?

8

Fiona Driving A Convertible In The Snow

In case you needed more evidence that Fiona is in no way a real person, how's this: She pulls up to Margaret's palace in the middle of the night in her old Jaguar convertible... while it's snowing... and she has the top down! What kind of madness is this?

9

Stacy's Kidnapping

Netflix

Stacy's kidnapping is right out of a heist movie from the 1950s... meaning you've seen it a million times before and it has no business in a 2020 romantic comedy. After one of Fiona's goons spills some champagne on Stacy's (who's posing as Margaret) dress, Fiona's other goon offers to take her to the bathroom to clean it up. Once inside, Fiona emerges from a stall, hits Stacy with some chloroform, and then literally says, "Now it's my turn to switch." You can't make this stuff up, folks.

10

Stacy's Escape

Even more ridiculous than Stacy's capture is how she escapes said capture. She ties a rope to a barrel, and when Fiona's henchman comes to deliver Stacy her daily feeding, Stacy pulls the rope and sends a solitary barrel slowly rolling toward him. This minor obstacle manages to vex the henchman so much that Stacy is able to flee outside.

11

Fiona's Shoddy Memory

Fiona manages to make it all the way to the coronation while posing as Margaret, and she nearly gets the bishop to crown her the queen until they're interrupted by the real Margaret — despite the fact that she doesn't know what Margaret's name is. You'd think those performing the coronation — who are at least aware of one Margaret clone — would find it strange that the princess doesn't know her own name, and would call off the ceremony at once.

12

"Take Him To The Dungeon!"

Unlike the dungeon in A Christmas Prince 3, the dungeon in Switched Again is apparently still in use for locking up suspected criminals. After Margaret asks guards to arrest Fiona's accomplice Antonio at the coronation, she tells them to "Take him to the dungeon!" Uh, shouldn't he be taken to a police station or something? What kind of justice system does Montenaro have?

13

Stacy's Mansplaining

After foiling Fiona's plot, the gang heads to the airport to stop Kevin from leaving the country so Margaret can declare her love for him. As Margaret is trying to explain to Kevin what happened, he is understandably struggling to comprehend. Stacy then rudely interjects, "Don't you get it? It wasn't Margaret who told you to leave, it was Fiona!" Give him a second, Stacy, he didn't watch the whole movie like the rest of us.

14

The Airport Wedding

OK, so after Stacy mansplains to Kevin what happened, he and Margaret agree to get married (despite their obvious trust and communication problems). They are then so desperate to get married before they suffer another misunderstanding that they ask a random priest waiting to board his flight if he'll perform the ceremony then and there. He agrees, and everyone else in the terminal — who should be boarding their own respective flights — decides to stop and watch this weird wedding. Obviously, this was written by someone who has never been to an airport.

The Princess Switch: Switched Again is one of the most ridiculous holiday movies ever made, but it's all harmless and entertaining fun. And after the year we've all had, don't we deserve a silly rom-com to close out 2020 on an uplifting note?