It’s not like I was intentionally longing for a continuum of The Princess Switch, but hearing the announcement of The Princess Switch 2: Switched again undeniably got my attention. 

The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again, is the sequel of The Princess Switch, which made its debut on November 19, 2020, almost exactly two years after the first movie was released in November of 2018. 

Having loved the first movie, it just felt natural for me to watch the second to see what the royal doppelgangers were up to this time. 

Vanessa Hudgens, who stars as not one, not two, but three people in this movie, must’ve had a lot of fun channeling each of her individual characters’ personalities. Margaret Delacorte and Stacy De Novo, the two girls previously played by Hudgens, were joined by Fiona Pembroke, Margaret’s devious cousin—also played by Hudgens—who also happens to look strikingly similar to the other two girls. As if two lookalikes weren’t astonishing enough. 

With another holiday love crisis in the midst of the season, Margaret and Stacy choose to make another switch in order to make ends meet. However, this most recent switch couldn’t have gone worse. Complications with determining each doppelganger’s identity result in royal dilemmas regarding the throne. Fiona tries to swap with Margaret to satisfy her need to be in authority, oblivious to the fact that Margaret and Stacy were pulling a switch that same night.  

It takes a lot of talent and character development to make each character their own, unique story; Hudgens did an excellent job overall of making it easy for the viewer to distinguish each look-alike. Stacy’s character did not require an accent because her backstory was based in Chicago, and I think Hudgens was able to nail her personality and habits; however, the accents for her counterpart characters were a little sketchy at times. It didn’t bother me too much, but I can definitely say that Stacy De Novo was Hudgens’s strongest portrayed character. 

King Richard (Ben Lamb), Stacy’s husband, and Kevin Richards (Nick Sagar), Margaret’s love interest, provided much needed comic relief at times. They weren’t as significant in the movie as in the original Princess Switchnyet they still complimented the three girls’ journey nicely. 

However, I very quickly noticed that the actress who originally played Olivia, Kevin’s daughter, had been recast. The original Olivia—Alexa Adeosun—was replaced by Mia Lloyd. I honestly think the swap was unnecessary; Adeosun would’ve been great reprising her role as Keven’s sweet little daughter.

The overall plot of the story was predictable; each attempted twist has been seen before in another movie. Even with a predictable storyline, I still relished the movie. It didn’t seem to matter what was happening in the movie as I watched it–it was more of how the plot twists and events were executed that made it enjoyable for me to watch. 

Overall, I’d say I’m indifferent about this film. On one hand, the acting and casting were spectacular and I love how the movie concluded with a happy ending. On the other hand, it simply didn’t ‘wow’ me. I feel like there was just one big revelation missing that could’ve amped up the movie one more notch. 

Nonetheless, any fan of a rom-com Netflix movie would be delighted by the characters, specified details, and plot of this blissful winter movie.