Christmas And Royal Romances || Movies & TV Shows Christmas Contest

If there's an aspect of Christmas holiday movies that I love, it's the royal romance themes! You know, the one where a royal prince or princess pretends to be a commoner, meets another person and falls in love with them. There are many of this type of movie around but very few stand out for originality.

I watched some related movies recently and was planning on reviewing them when Movies & TV Shows Christmas Contest post dropped yesterday. I guess this is a good opportunity to present the writeup as my entry to this contest.

Christmas is about celebrating family, kindness, compassion, giving and of course, LOVE. I guess this is one reason why most holiday movies incorporate romance into the plots. There's this warm feeling of love in the air during the holiday season so I don't mind this type of movies.

In harmony with the season, I found The Princess Switch trilogy featuring Vanessa Hudgens as the star actress and decided to binge watch it. In my opinion, this trilogy is fantastic and a fitting watch for the family at Christmas. It explores themes like romance, mystery, politics and a bit of thriller. What's more, it reminds me of the classic romantic comedy, The Parent Trap (1994).

The first film in this trilogy The Princess Switch (2018) focuses on Stacy, a commoner and baker, who enters into a baking competition in Belgravia (a fictional country) and surprisingly meets her lookalike, Lady Margaret. Both characters are played by Vanessa Hudgens.

Lady Margaret is due to marry the crown prince of Belgravia but she wants to experience life as a normal person without the hassles of royalty. So she switches life with Stacy for a few days. These two characters must try their best to ensure no one discovers their true identity. But like all movies, the best laid plans always go awry. What do you think happens to these two characters?

The ending of the first film is excellently executed but Lady Margaret's story is left open-ended which leads us to the second film, The Princess Switch: Switched Again (2020) released two years later. Vanessa Hudgens returns to play the role of the two characters: Stacy and Lady Margaret. Once again, the ladies must switch places so Lady Margaret can capture the heart of the man she truly loves. Again, things do not go as planned because a third lookalike appears and guns for the throne of Montenaro. Will Lady Margaret be able to save her throne while fighting for the heart of her love who is not royalty but a commoner?

The director of this interesting trilogy, Mike Rohl, doesn't end the fun in the second film. He's poised to give the three ladies their own story and happy endings when the third film, The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star (2021) was released. Of the three, I enjoyed this one the most. The plots and subplots from the first and second films were all tied up nicely in the third movie.

I've added this trilogy to my yearly Christmas watch. It shares some similarities with The Parent Trap but also gets some praise for originality by structuring the plot around royalty and delving into espionage thrillers with exciting action scenes in the second and third films.

The first film feels cheesy, like most Christmas romances by Hallmark. Every scene is predictable and I knew how it would end but I still watched it because I love Vanessa Hudgens in movies and it's Christmas! Everything is permitted. Seeing the sequel, there are notable improvements in the plot, storytelling and scenery. The plot shifts from switched lives, romance and royal duties to politics and espionage thriller.

It's so much fun watching the lovely and multi-talented Vanessa Hudgens act in the triple roles of a commoner/baker, a royal fiancée-turns-queen and a wannabe queen/looter. Her acting is impressive especially as Lady Margaret because her English accent (she's an American) sounds exaggerated but charming. She carries herself well like royalty and impressively embodies all her characters.

The character development is top-notch and well done. The way to differentiate Vanessa Hudgens' characters is by their dressings, speech and hair. The cousin Fiona, the third lookalike, is the wild child of the three ladies and has no qualms dipping her hands into bad things. I think this balances the stereotypical prim and proper behaviour of Stacy and Lady Margaret. I like that director Mike Rohl gives the three characters their love interests and happy endings.

The cinematography is great and every scene feels Christmassy.

So would I recommend this trilogy? Definitely! But please binge-watch all three. That's the best way to enjoy it. The Princess Switch trilogy is a fine Christmas story and worth watching by the family during the holidays.

Merry Christmas!

This is my entry to the Movies & TV Shows Christmas Contest. You are invited to participate and review your holiday films or series.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

^{Thumbnail image edited in Canva and other images are screenshots from the movies}