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Beyond the fact that Vanessa Hudgens plays three different characters.
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.
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?