It's best not to overthink the new Netflix movie "The Princess Switch" _ especially the Chicago scenes.
This is the plot: Shortly before Christmas, a "commoner" from Chicago travels to Belgravia to participate in an international baking competition. She bumps into the Duchess of Montenaro, a soon-to-be princess who looks exactly like her. They switch places and fall in love with each other's partners.
"High School Musical" alum Vanessa Hudgens plays both the duchess of the made-up place and the Chicago commoner, but that's not the biggest eyebrow-raiser of the 101-minute film, which came out Friday.
The first five minutes are set in Chicago _ except it's not Chicago, not even close. "The Princess Switch" was filmed entirely in Romania and stock footage was used to establish the Chicago setting.
Look, there's the Cadillac Palace Theatre, the Art Institute, the "L," snow! and Hudgens as baker Stacy De Novo wearing a baseball cap that says "Chicago." It's a good thing "Chicago" is spelled out for the viewers, because the movie doesn't have a Chicago feel.
De Novo owns Stacy's Sweets and Treats _ lauded as the best-kept secret in Chicago (shhhh, don't tell the many, many food writers who live here). When De Novo leaves the bakery there's snow on the ground, but she wears that "Chicago" cap, a light scarf and a jacket better suited for September.
The chill only seems to set in when De Novo runs into her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend as they head for the train so they can celebrate the holiday with his parents. Metra? Amtrak? South Shore Line? Who knows!
"The Princess Switch," which also stars Sam Palladio ("Nashville") and Nick Sagar ("Queen of the South") as the men who fall in love with Hudgens' characters, is not the only new Christmas movie set in Chicago.
"The Christmas Chronicles," which features Kurt Russell as a rugged Santa Claus whose sleigh crashes in Chicago, is due out on Thanksgiving via Netflix. Scenes were filmed here in January.
In "Christmas Lost and Found," a New York City event planner played by Tiya Sircar finds romance as she spends Christmas in Chicago with her grandmother (Diane Ladd). The movie, which is slated to premiere Dec. 7 on the Lifetime network, was filmed in Vancouver. Hopefully they were able to find some "Chicago" hats there.
