IRISH WISH

The welcome return of 2000s comedy favorite Lindsay Lohan on Netflix continues with the new movie IRISH WISH, a fun and frothy romantic comedy/fantasy that has positive views of miracles, a Catholic saint and a Catholic priest.

Lohan stars as Maddie, a woman who is the editor of a successful romance writer named Paul. He reveals his oversized ego in the opening moments as he walks a red carpet before a book-signing event, but doesn’t give any credit to the fact that Maddie actually wrote the book for him anonymously.

This is indicative of Maddie’s inability to stand up for herself in life, a weak trait that she needs to overcome. It also hurts her in the arena of love, as she wants to tell Paul she’s in love with him but can’t work up the nerve, and winds up stunned as Paul and her best friend Emma meet and embark on a whirlwind romance that leads to a wedding just months later.

The idea that Paul and Emma want to get married is refreshingly portrayed positively, as the movie makes that the goal of a relationship, and they’re happy to commit to each other, rather than so many other movies having negative attitudes towards marriage and rampant promiscuity. The movie also has a positive depiction of divinely inspired miracles, as well as of Catholicism and its Catholic priest.

Maddie is asked to be the bridesmaid at their Irish wedding, a job that gives her conflicting emotions. However, once she lands in Ireland, she literally bumps into a young photographer named Billy, and they humorously bicker right from the start as they keep running into each other.

Overwhelmed and lonely, Maddie sits down on a bench with a beautiful view of nature and wishes that she could be married to Paul. A mysterious woman appears and acknowledges the wish, and suddenly Maddie is blown back into her hotel bed and finds that the wish came true, turning the lives of Maddie, Emma and Paul upside down in a fun and well-imagined series of events in which Maddie is indeed about to marry Paul and Emma is left pining.

When one thing after another goes wrong while drawing Maddie and Paul close together, Maddie starts to feel guilty that she’s achieved her dream in a selfish way. The mystery woman keeps appearing every rollercoaster moment, and then Maddie is shocked to see a stained glass window of the woman winking at her at the wedding rehearsal in church.

Maddie realizes that the woman is St. Bridget, and that what’s happening around her are miracles (though deceased Christian saints are in Heaven, not on earth performing miracles: God alone preforms miracles). So, should she accept her new status as the bride, or reverse everything?

IRISH WISH is silly fun that isn’t trying to win Oscars, instead attempting to make viewers smile throughout. The bonus is that the script actually has several laugh-out-loud moments, and director Janeen Damian keeps things popping with some surprisingly good physical comedy. She also inspires Lohan to deliver the fun she showed in her heyday, with the supporting cast all vibrant as well. IRISH WISH has a strong Christian worldview with several scenes set in a church, positive references to God, and a highly positive view of marriage. There’s only a quick scene of a shirtless, towel-clad man emerging out of a shower, 1 use of “bastard” and one OMG that gets immediately corrected by the priest.

IRISH WISH is enjoyable fun for all ages and a great watch for families.