‘Irish Wish’ movie review: Better as an ad for Ireland tourism than a romcom

With a resurgence that merits a biopic of its own, Lindsay Lohan deserves more and so do we, and that’s precisely what ‘Irish Wish’ leaves you wishing for

The phrase ‘be careful what you wish for’ from Aesop’s Fables seems to be the core idea for filmmaker Janeen Damian’s latest Netflix outing Irish Wish and from the looks of it, she clearly has a thing for fabulism, festivals and everything in between. A couple of years ago, she teamed up with Lindsay Lohan for Falling for Christmaswhich marked the latter’s first role in a major production in over a decade following a series of career setbacks. Despite mixed reviews, the film turned out to be a hit and it’s no surprise that the duo has re-teamed for Irish Wish. Unfortunately, their latest film is more clichéd and boring than their previous encounter and the festive spirit that gave Falling for Christmas a little leeway does not seem to work as much on Saint Patrick’s Day.

The story of Irish Wish feels like an afterthought just like its title — Maddie’s (Lindsay Lohan) unrequited love, Paul Kennedy (Alexander Vlahos), in a twist of fate, is getting married to her best friend Emma (Elizabeth Tan). When she encounters Saint Brigid (Dawn Bradfield) while taking a stroll down the lush green pastures of Ireland, she’s given the opportunity to wish for whatever she wants. Unsurprisingly, she asks to “get married to Paul Kennedy” and voila — she wakes up as the bride. But little does she know that wishes, like every other decision we take, come with their own consequences and when they inadvertently pop up, things don’t go as per plan.

Despite a wafer-thin plot, it gives a lot of space to explore the sweet and comical moments one would expect from a rom-com but what we get are the tropes that we once used to enjoy and now dread from the same genre. We have the usual meet-cutes, the not-so-great first impression that turns out to be more than just that and characters in professions that give them the time to get close to the lead. Throw into the equation is a stereotypical rich would-be mother-in-law character who would entice disinterested photographers by offering them thrice their usual charge, and we have a plot straight from that free library novel that no one wants to pick.

Credit where it’s due, Lohan carries off limited scenes that work with an awkward charm that she pulls off quite effortlessly and her chemistry with Ed Speleers’ James Thomas works convincingly. But the plot, as it does with all its other tropes, barely fleshes out anything for us to feast on and what we are left with is a painfully predictable third act.

In place of engaging drama, we get picturesque shots of the expansive Ireland vistas. From the famous Lough Tay to the exquisite sea cliffs, the film does such a fine job of capturing the countryside that it almost leaves you wondering if Tourism Ireland has co-produced this flick. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to call everything that happens between the aerial shots of Ireland and the mid-shots of Lohan to be bland and uninspiring. With a resurgence that merits a biopic on its own, Lohan deserves more and so do we, and that’s precisely what Irish Wish leaves you wishing for.

Irish Wish is currently streaming on Netflix