The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star Parent Guide

As part of an international Christmas festival, the Vatican has agreed to loan the priceless Star of Peace, said to have once belonged to Saint Nicholas himself, to Queen Margaret of Montenaro (Vanessa Hudgens). Shortly after its arrival, however, the Star is stolen from the palace vault. With the police baffled, Margaret and Princess Stacy (also Vanessa Hudgens) turn to the only person they know with connections to the criminal world: Margaret’s cousin, Fiona (shockingly, also Vanessa Hudgens).

My review of the previous installment in the series, The Princess Switch: Switched Again, was, though not glowingly positive, at least a thumbs up. Unfortunately, I won’t be quite so kind this time around. This movie goes beyond cringe and into full body dry heaves. You know when your roll your eyes so hard it becomes a full body experience? Imagine that constantly for over an hour. It almost felt like a workout. Vanessa Hudgens’ British accent has somehow gotten worse in the past year (if you can believe it). And her chemistry with Prince Edward (Sam Palladio) is even more nonexistent than before. Poor Edward, the man has the personality of a sheet of cardboard and nothing more to do than be the butt of “Europeans don’t understand America” jokes.

The plot certainly exists! Does it make any sense? Absolutely not! Is it incredibly contrived and artificial? You bet! Characters just get pushed along on a dreary path to the inevitable “switch” that is contractually obligated to happen. The actual switch comes along so late in the story that I thought maybe there wouldn’t be one at all, which would be a refreshing change of pace. But sadly, I was misled by false hope. We get not just one, but two unnecessarily shoe-horned in Hudgen-Switches^TM. At the very least, our new romantic pairing, Fiona and Peter (Remy Hii) have some chemistry, unlike Hudgens and every other man in this franchise.

What struck me the most about this film is the more sexual tone as compared to the other two. The previous installments keep to a very Disney view of romance: a few stolen glances across the room, a brush of the hands, and a single kiss. This production, though it stays far away from sex, either shown or implied, does come across as very sexy. I suppose that fits with Fiona’s character, but it surprised me. Again, I can’t point to any actual sexual activity or discussion, save a handful of very mild innuendos, but there’s just an overall sexy vibe that permeates Fiona and Peter’s interactions. Aside from that, this film has a lot more swearing than the previous ones, as well as more discussion around alcohol. I think at this point you know whether this is a movie you want to watch or not. People who are already fans will probably love it, but I can’t imagine why anyone else would even bother giving it a try. With the uptick in adult content, and overall low quality, I wouldn’t recommend this for young viewers or anyone who values their sanity.