Last year, when my daughter had a sleepover party for her 13th birthday, my husband and I labored over possible movies they could watch. What would be cool enough for a bunch of 12 and 13-year-olds, but also age appropriate? We should not have stressed. Within seconds, they all agreed they wanted to watch 1998’s The Parent Trap, starring Lindsay Lohan. This year, perhaps spurred on by the recent movie musical, they’ve been into 2004’s Mean Girls. This is the Lindsay Lohan they know. The actress with the vibrant red hair and sparkly eyes who starred in movies that have been woven into our pop culture psyche. Before the drug use, before her parents made headlines, before she became tabloid fodder. I’m always rooting for Lohan. She survived early fame and scrutiny. I want her to come out on top. I want the world to know the Lindsay Lohan my daughter and her friends know. And it seems that Hallmark-esque Netflix movies like Irish Wish are just the thing. I love this career choice for her.
In 2022, Lohan starred in Netflix’s Falling for You opposite Chord Overstreet. And she’ll have another holiday film, Our Little Secret, coming to the streamer later this year. But now, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, comes Irish Wish. Lohan stars as Maddie Kelly, a New York book editor with a habit of putting other people before herself. She’s in love with Paul Kennedy (Alexander Vlahos), the rakish best-selling author with a charming brogue. The only problem is that Maddie has never told him how she feels. At the launch party for his newest book Two Irish Hearts, Paul meets Maddie’s best friend Emma (Elizabeth Tan). A few months later, Maddie suddenly finds herself traveling to Ireland for Emma and Paul’s wedding.
When Maddie makes a wish to the mischievous Saint Brigid (Dawn Bradfield), she finds herself in a Freaky Friday situation. Suddenly she’s living in an alternate universe where she’s the one marrying Paul and James Thomas (Ed Speleers), the cute guy she met at the airport, is their wedding photographer.
Filmed in Ireland, Irish Wish, which makes terrific use out of the country’s locations, lulls you into not asking too many questions. Why, for instance, is Jane Seymour, who plays Maddie’s mother Rosemary, shown mostly through FaceTime calls? Seymour is relegated to a series of pratfalls so incongruent it seems like maybe her inability to travel to Ireland happened at the last minute and part of the script by Kirsten Hansen might be missing. The fact that all Seymour’s scenes were so clearly shot without any of the other cast around gives off serious “Kim Cattrall And Just Like That cameo” vibes. It’s too bad, because the relationship between Maddie and Rosemary is a fun one. “You promised you’d call when you landed,” Rosemary nags Maddie in one of their many relatable exchanges.
If you don’t know who Maddie ends up with in the end, you definitely don’t watch enough Hallmark Channel movies. Irish Wish is full of connect-the-dot plot points: A sudden thunderstorm! A blocked road! An unplanned night in a hotel! A wedding that doesn’t go according to plan! A nightmarish mother-of-the-groom (played to perfection by Jacinta Mulcahy). But even though the ending is clear, the revelations Maddie comes to along the way are deeper than your typical fare. Irish Wish centers on a love triangle, but Paul isn’t a bad guy—just maybe not the right guy for Maddie. She recognizes she needs to find “someone you love, not just someone you wish for,” and to start fulfilling her own dreams.
Keeping with its Hallmark approach, Irish Wish is fairly family-friendly. Nothing more risqué than a kiss happens. And, from James’ red convertible traversing the Irish countryside to Paul’s castle-like home, Irish Wish is deeply pretty to look at. Except for the unfortunate moss-green bridesmaid dresses, Lohan’s wardrobe is also top-notch. (Netflix would be wise to include shopping links.)
Irish Wish is also a bit of a family affair. Her brother Dakota Lohan plays Finn, a friend of Paul’s (I think, he just kind of mysteriously pops up midway through the movie) and her sister Aliana Lohan has her song “Comin’ Home” over the ending credits. Irish Wish reaffirms that Lohan still has command over her acting talents. The spark that was there at the beginning of her career remains, and my own wish for Lohan is coming true.
Director: Janeen Damian
Writer: Kirsten Hansen
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Ed Speleers, Alexander Vlahos, Ayesha Curry, Elizabeth Tan, Jacinta Mulcahy, Jane Seymour
Release Date: March 15, 2024 (Netflix)
Amy Amatangelo, the TV Gal®, is a Boston-based freelance writer and a member of the Television Critics Association. She wasn’t allowed to watch much TV as a child and now her parents have to live with this as her career. You can follow her on Twitter (@AmyTVGal).