The Princess Trap (The Princess Switch, 2018)

The_Princess_Switch_PosterStacy is the owner of a small but popular bake shop. Stacy is a nice but constantly trying to control her future. Right before Christmas, her sous chef Kevin and his daughter Olivia that they entered her in a contest… and she won the opportunity for an all expense paid to a European country to participate in a bake-off. Initially, she refuses.  But after running into an ex, she impulsively decides to go on the trip. Kevin and Olivia join her (as he is Stacy’s Sous Chef).

After arriving, her friends push to enjoy the trip, but not Stacy. She is focused on not making mistakes. Especially after a rival from her past appears on the scene. Stacy bumps into Lady Margaret, who is there as a judge and is due to marry the Prince in a few days.

They find they are practically identical twins (well, yeah, they are both played by Hudgens). Lady Margaret convinces Stacy to switch places so she can experience life as a commoner. Of course, after they switch, both women start to discover what they felt was missing in their lives…including Kevin and the Prince. While Stacy has never been more than friends with Kevin, Margaret is smitten almost instantly, and the same for occurs when Stacy meets the Prince. There are hijinks as the women try and keep their switch a secret.

The movie takes the Fairy Tale approach, where there is very little complexity…for example, at no time do the women have trouble keeping their accents in check. And everything works out perfectly in the end. There is a rather unnecessary addition of a kindly old man who magically shows up randomly whenever a character needs a “push”. Is he some sort of Christmas spirit? An angel? Santa? Who knows. Is he even magical? Or is he just a big time world traveler.

The cast is okay, but nobody rises above the material, instead, all fitting perfectly into the standard roles this kind of story calls for.

So, the film is…alright. I mean, if you love Hallmark style Christmas movies? This is actually pretty fun.

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