The season of love and romance has gone, and the summer has kicked in in full form. It is time for summer blockbusters to hit the theaters as audiences gear up for holidays and vacations. It does not make sense to release a cliched romantic comedy at this point when no one is interested in watching another story of a man and woman meeting and falling in love. Irish Wish, directed by Janeen Damian, is a Netflix original film that was released on March 15, 2024.
This one-hour and thirty-minute film is about Madeline ‘Maddy’ Kelly, who works as a book editor and is in love with her friend and author Paul Kennedy. Unbeknownst to anyone, Maddy is the ghostwriter who has written, molded, and polished Paul’s latest book, and Paul is the one taking credit for its success.
Maddy couldn’t see anything wrong in this arrangement because of her undying love for him. Things get worse when her best friend Emma and Paul hit it off and decide to get married in his home country, Ireland. A few days away from the wedding, Maddie runs into Saint Brigid at a quaint yet beautiful spot who offers to fulfill her wish. Maddy reveals she wishes to be Paul’s wife. The world around her changes as her wish is granted, but her life is not what she expected it to turn out to be. Was Maddy’s dream to marry Paul fulfilled, or did she find someone else who loves her for who she is?
This Lindsay Lohan film is as cliche as it gets, and there is no redeeming quality that could help it remain afloat till the end. The movie is written by Kirsten Hansen, and Irish Wish is reminiscent of typical romantic comedies from the 90s and 2000s, where the movie was never shot on location but on sets that look like a part of the city. The music as the movie begins takes people back to every movie in this genre, especially those made two to three decades ago. The writer and the director have tried nothing new and packed in many cliched scenarios, friendships, and a dated climax. The story of a woman longing for a man but unable to express it is as lame as it gets. There is no scope for the story to develop or to become something different as the second half kicks in. The story is filled with stereotypes and generalizations the Americans have of Irish people. Not everyone in Ireland refers to women as “love” at the end of every sentence. Not every Irish person is a rich aristocrat living in a mansion surrounded by a sprawling estate. The tacky meet cute involves the man and the woman starting off with an argument, and the leading lady is a damsel in distress who needs to be told she might be making a mistake by choosing the wrong person. There is no scope for a woman to come to a decision on her own, which is sad as the movie is written, directed, and produced by women.
Since this is an American movie, it includes typical shots of seaside towns in Ireland, which was a staple in many films that were released, as mentioned above, thirty years ago. These dreary and uninspiring shots do not work anymore as they add to the generalizations the world has of the respective countries and people. There is nothing explored when it comes to Maddie and her friendship with Emma and Heather. They are supposed to be her support system, but that dynamic is hardly touched upon.
Love stories are all about the chemistry between the two leads, and sadly, in Irish Wish, that chemistry does not exist. Maddie’s relationship with Paul as well as James Thomas—the nonexistent spark between these characters only adds to the misery because it makes the film unwatchable. The screenplay and the dialogue are tacky and outdated. The makers have included fake laughter for everyone after every sentence, which makes every scene faux and unbearable.
Irish Wish would have been an ideal Christmas or Valentine’s Day release. The story and the ending are predictable, while the twists and turns in the film are childish. The production design of the film must be mentioned because it is eye-sore. There is not much effort added to make the scenes look good, which makes the cinematography look out of place. The costumes and makeup are abysmal, as there is probably no clarity on the vision the directors have for the actors in the film. The characters in the film wear simple clothes during rehearsal dinners, which is one of the major events right before the wedding. It does not make sense if the actors were just lazy or if the production just lost interest in making Irish Wish appealing.
The movie could have been a lot better if the female characters were not reduced to stereotypes. Irish Wish is filled with elements that make it a cheesy film. The performances of the actors are subpar, and it is heartbreaking to watch all of them be reduced to hamming instead of making their roles emotional. Lindsay Lohan’s performance in Irish Wish is inadequate, and her performance could not bring up the love and affection she claimed to have for Paul. This performance could have been given to some other female actors to add some depth to a flaky story and screenplay.
The rest of the cast were just sleepwalking and were reduced to caricatures. The two girlfriends of Maddie only walk in and out of the frame with some laughter, giggles, and doses of bad acting. It seems the production does not understand the difference between English and Irish accents and hired actors with British accents for the roles of people from Ireland. Their cultural faux pas is the biggest letdown, and it makes the viewers wonder if the American production houses may not be catching up with the times.
Irish Wish is a film made three decades too late because it seems the makers were inside a time capsule when they conceptualized it. It is a tasteless film that has nothing new to offer.
