One thing I’ve always believed about Vanessa Hudgens is that she has the range (High School Musical has bops), and even if she doesn’t have THE range, she has SOME range, so really, back off. Her latest work for Netflix confirms this, as she will star as the TWO lead roles in an upcoming Christmas/rom- com/Freaky Friday/The Parent Trap/The Princess Diaries/Prince and the Pauper type thing.


Hudgens plays Stacy, an optimistic baker in Chicago who—wow!—out of nowhere is invited to compete in the baking competition of her dreams by the Royal Family of Belgravia in London. She can’t believe it. Frankly, neither can I. Once there, boys’ dance troupes perform Nutcracker in the snowy streets, and Stacy runs into a duchess who looks exactly like her, except she has a short cropped haircut. Both looking for a little love and freedom, they decide to switch places. Hudgens wades courageously into both roles, sporting the most posh accent she can muster, which is not very good at all, but which works because Stacy’s supposed to be imitating the duchess’s speech pattern anyway, and she’s not very good at that. Brava!!

I will absolutely watch this movie and continue to support Hudgens in her professional goals, and I don’t even care how poorly thought-out the plot is—I’m assuming the two get caught, but maybe they don’t. Maybe they live as shoddy shadows of the other for the rest of their lives, and that could be fine.