Review of The Princess Switch (2018) by Andrewburge — 17 Nov 2018

Mike Rohl's 'The Princess Switch' is like the annoying guy who sings Christmas Carols in November. It is a film supposedly about the magic of Christmas and love and what-not, but the only representation of the best time of the year is of extravagant, cliche decorations. Seriously, is like walking through a supermarket in December. The cinematography is also highly colorful and while is aesthetically pleasing, it also feels cheap and unnatural.

These problems, unfortunately, persist deeper into the film. Vanessa Hudgens plays a double role here. She is Stacy De Novo, a baker from Chicago and also Lady Margaret, the Duchess of... whatever. The point is, these two have conflicting personalities so they decide to switch places for two days. The only thing properly executed here is the creative way in which the two characters have personalities conflicting their social status; Margaret is aching for a normal and spontaneous life, while Stacy is well-organized. Sure, the complexity of the characters is kept to a minimum, but this being a Christmas film, I don't have too many issues with that.

What does bother me, though, is the annoying product placement of a certain media-service provider and the overacting of certain characters. There is an unnatural quirk to most of the performances, and while the interactions between the two female protagonists and their experiences after switching do contain some funny moments, they are also blatantly awkward. I cannot stand Hudgens' in-your-face British accent or Nick Sagar's childish and obnoxious Kevin.

I will be honest. The only reason I watched this film is because it was filmed in Romania, and a friend of mine was an extra. The location does offer a certain archaic beauty, and this being a Christmas film it can get away with a lot of things, yet if its predictability is not enough to put you down, then the film's insistence on it sucks out all its depth and leaves us with an unnecessary, bland, boring squabble whose over-the-top aesthetics could only be appreciated by 8-year old kids and Christmas Calendar designers.