Irish Wish
Irish Wish
Irish Wish: Two years ago Lindsay Lohan had not been cast in any film for almost a decade, until the release of the Netflix film holiday film “Falling for Christmas,” which featured her as the lead cast and Lea Ryder in addition to her innumerable charms.
Once again collaborating with director Janeen Damian, Lohan has returned to that same kind of screwball romantic comedy formula with fantasy and Irish character which has become the hallmark of her romantic comedies for her new movie “Irish Wish”.
Maddie Kelly is an editor for a publishing house who keeps a deep secret; that of being madly in love with her author – an author of best-selling romance novels Paul Kennedy (Alexander Vlahos) who is otherwise very boring and his accent is Irish. In the movie, only her mother, Rosemary (Jane Seymour) who is a high school VP in Des Moines, Iowa, has been told.
She plans to tell him everything on the of the book launch when a freak accident causes Emma (Elizabeth Tan) while trying to kiss Paul (Alexander Vlahos) and gets both their eyelashes entwined, instantly creating chemistry. That night three months had flown by without anyone noticing and Paul’s immense family had arrived in Ireland for a grand wedding at his estate.
At the airport, Maddie has an odd meet-cute when she picks up James (Ed Speleers), a handsome British photographer’s suitcase which was not hers.
Once that situation is cleared, they get on a bus from the airport to the country where they also exchange some barbs leaving them with a bitter taste for one another. Following a walk around the estate, once they’ve arrived, Maddie happens to sit on a stone wishing chair, in which an impertinent Saint Brigid (Dawn Bradfield) encourages her to make a wish. “I wish I were marrying Paul Kennedy” she shouts out, as a warm breeze swirls around her fairytale pink flowers and pulls her into a tornado of destiny.
It’s often stated that be careful what you wish for because in most cases thanks to irony and twisted fate, wishes often turn people into what they never wanted to be. Although one awakens a bride, it does not take long before they understand this union was unnecessary.
With every passing moment, they grow to know each other more, and through that, the ugly side of him comes out. Amidst all the uncertainty, Maddie passes time with the charming and intellectual James, who, for some reason, was forced to be her wedding photographer as she was about to tie the knot.
It is only when Maddie knows her wish has done a disservice to everyone, and that it may be because she has fallen for James, when a priest has to clarify to her that Saint Brigid, who has a little inspiration from Saint Mick and Saint Keith, does not always give you what you ask for, but gives you what you need.
As for the form and the plot, there is nothing new in this genre in the presence of Lohan. She is and always has been a star and a screwball comedienne even when the context is not up to par (yes I am talking about you then ‘Just My Luck’). Damian frequently casts her in close to medium close-up shooting in which her beauty is accentuated with soft gold light: this technique is effective but does not seem obtrusive.
The on-screen tenderness between Speleers and her is good enough to make their patter quite sizzling and, even more, their romantic interludes, like a secret dart game inside a tavern somewhere in the wilderness, hot. Let us not forget too that in terms of her physical comedy, her pratfalls were amusing and well timed even though there was a disconnect between the star and her stunt double in some cutting scenes.
And yes, the Irish Wish landscape is stunning.
This film invites you on a tour around some of the most beautiful Ireland’s places such as the elegant Lough Tay or the wild Cliffs of Moher where there might still exist some mischievous fairies around and the bond of love can conquer all bears some mystic elements. Adding to the Irish-ness, the score by Nathan Lanier is at times corny, but mostly enchanting, as it is built on clichés of Celtic music.
The weakest point of the movie is its supporting cast. It is amazing how successfully Vlahos impersonates the shallow Paul; sometimes his voice brings back memories of “Liberty Biberty” car policies commercials, in a good way of course.
Still, Seymour is rather underused in the mother part. Not only does she never once appear next to Lohan except for a telephone call – her humor is inappropriate and does not fit within the atmosphere of the movie. Jacinta Mulcahy is not in a much better position as Paul’s mom Olivia who looks like the first lady stereotype of snobbishness.
On the other hand, there are few scenes with Tan as Emma that I found touching and heartbreaking when the man she loves is to marry someone else but then again their romance in any universe is described quite quickly, considering the emotional significance of this union.
Heather, described as the “third friend” played by Ayesha Curry, is yet to learn how to integrate her acting and line delivery with the same perfection she has when cooking.
The film is not perfect, but it is as enjoyably distracting as the sort of paperback romance novels that Maddie exerts her editorial prowess onto Paul’s maw, and just as easily forgettable. Lindsay Lohan should definitely try to appear in a high budget romantic comedy, like “Anyone But You,” that would give her that decent pull.
However, after all the undue media pressure that she has been through for years, if she has now found joy in being creative with Damian and making some of these uncomplicated low-budget Netflix comedies once in a few years, I can say that is a success.
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- Genre: Comedy, Romance
- Country: Ireland, United States
- Director: Janeen Damian
- Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Ed Speleers, Alexander Vlahos
