REVIEW: ‘Irish Wish’ Pays Homage to Ireland, But Falls Flat on the Romance
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Netflix has a brand-new romantic comedy to get audiences into the holiday. Irish Wish focuses on Maddie Kelly (Lindsay Lohan), a book editor who is in love with one of her writers, Paul Kennedy (Alexander Vlahos). Maddie keeps her feelings to herself and soon Paul becomes engaged to another woman, one of Maddie’s best friends, Emma (Elizabeth Tan). Maddie makes the trek to Ireland to celebrate the couple’s big day, with a fake smile on her face and an attempt to make the best of the situation. After a series of mishaps, Maddie is given the chance to make a wish upon a wishing chair, an apparent old Irish tradition. When her wish to be the one marrying Paul is granted, Maddie must now decide if she really is in love with Paul or if there is a potential new suitor who is a better fit.
Lohan reunites with her Falling for Christmas director Janeen Damian for this new tale that doesn’t exactly come together. It has all the right pieces for the movie to be a great romantic comedy, a solid cast, decent chemistry, a gorgeous location; unfortunately, the story writing isn’t there. Screenwriter, Kirsten Hansen, left out too many pieces for audiences to fully immerse themselves in the romantic comedy world. The biggest problem was Hansen didn’t spend enough time building the chemistry between Lohan’s Maddie and her actual love interest, Ed Speleers’ James Thomas. These two could have had something great if more time had been spent focusing on their relationship rather than trying to add in Maddie’s relationship with the other characters. The best part of this movie is the use of Ireland as a character. From the locations used in the movie to the traditional Irish music featured throughout, you will end the movie planning your own trip.
Lohan does well with the dialogue she is given in the movie, but there isn’t enough build between her and her love interest, Ed Speleers as James Thomas. Frankly, this does a disservice to Lohan and Speleers. The duo is joined in the movie by Ayesha Curry as Heather, Elizabeth Tan as Emma Taylor, and Jane Seymour as Maddie’s mother, Rosemary Kelly. Curry is the clear standout of the three. Her and Lohan’s real-life friendship is easily conveyed on screen while the friendship between Maddie and Emma doesn’t makes much sense. Seymour could have been left out of the whole movie and nothing would have changed, which is a shame because she is such a treat on screen.
The reason people tune in for these types of movies is because they make you feel good and are entertaining, no matter how unlikely the story is. Irish Wish is just too ridiculous even for the most ardent romantic-comedy fan. It’s too light on both the romance and the comedy that if it weren’t for how visually stunning the movie is, it wouldn’t be worth watching. If you’re interested in trying to find potential places to visit in Ireland, I recommend checking this out. If you’re wishing for an engaging romantic comedy, skip this one.
Grade: C-