What if you love someone and can’t have him, because he is about to marry your best friend? You just wish for him to be yours, instead. That’s what happened to the clumsy and kind Maddie, Lindsay Lohan’s character in the new Netflix rom-com “Irish Wish.” As the writer wished that Paul Kennedy, portrayed by Alexander Vlahos, the guy she was crushing on for over a year (she even edited his book, yuck), was marrying her instead of her best friend, things took a twisted turn in her life, quite literally.
When Maddie meets the handsome yet mysterious animal photographer James, portrayed by Ed Speelers, everything goes upside down. He is everything she never thought she needed, because all she ever wanted was to marry Paul Kennedy, as she states many times throughout the movie, just to convince herself to she is not meant to be with someone like James.
As every rom-com portrays, there is always a thin line between what the main love interests actually want and how they achieve the awaited happy ending. Everything is always shown as an inner fight as to what they initially need but they end up wanting something else totally different afterward, by believing in themselves, realizing their worth and making a life for themselves, standing their ground to people who put them down. That’s the case with our main character Maddie here, showcased by Lohan’s impeccable acting range, as she varies from different emotions throughout the movie and the audience can pick up how fantastic of an actress she truly has always been.
From the meeting between James and Maddie to the growth of their feelings for each other, the denial from Maddie and James was portrayed fantastically. It showed audiences how you think you know the man you are obsessed with, just to realize you have nothing in common with him, and someone else comes along the way, that exceeds all your expectations. Everything about this movie was effortlessly perfect, as clumsy moments of the character of Maddie remind me a lot about myself, even if her questionable taste in man made me realize how anyone can relate to someone like her today. We can still make selfish decisions but still fix them up easily and in the right way.
Lohan and Speelers’ performances were impeccable, this being an absolutely amazing comeback for Lohan after years of quitting acting, because of issues that damaged her public and personal image. These two actors were able to showcase two people who seemed to be completely different in the beginning but ended up being the most compatible couple by the end of the movie.
An honorable mention goes to Dawn Bradfield’s character of Saint Brigid, a troublemaker Irish religious figure who makes Maddie earn her wish and twists it all up with comical moments to make her realize her selfish mistake. The movie was a breath of fresh air, after other romantic comedies that didn’t give anything good to watch (ahem, Anyone About You), and showcased a fun and emotional Lohan who is back to give the public her fantastic acting, making them fall in love with her romantic stories again and again.