Irish Wish Parent Guide

Maddie (Lindsay Lohan) is a book editor for a famous author, Paul (Alexander Vlahos), with whom she is secretly in love. But her inability to tell him how she feels means that she has missed her chance, and before she knows it, he’s engaged to her best friend, Emma (Elizabeth Tan). Putting friendship over her own feelings, Maddie flies to Ireland to be a bridesmaid.

The Emerald Isle can be an enchanting place, and while there, Maddie accidentally makes a magical wish. Amazingly, she finds herself engaged to Paul and only days away from marrying a man she thinks she loves but realizes she doesn’t know very well.

If you’ve watched the trailer for this film, you’ve seen the whole movie. The plot is exactly what you expect it to be, with no surprises and a lot of rom-com tropes. But this is a case where that’s not a bad thing. Yes, it’s predictable, but in a comforting and entertaining way. It’s not trying to be subversive or original. The writers know exactly what they were going for and they pull it off. Not every story needs to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes a movie can just be exactly what you expect it to be.

As someone who is generally ambivalent about romances that aren’t based on Jane Austen novels, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Irish Wish. Yes, I could have told you the entire plot after the first five minutes, but watching it play out was still enjoyable. Lohan is back to her rom-com heights and delivers a surprisingly poignant character who undergoes some realistic and healthy character growth. I didn’t detect any of the toxic messages that often infect this genre, which was refreshing. And of course, the Irish landscape alone is worth the price of admission.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the almost complete lack of negative content in this film. The PG rating is accurate, and I don’t think most parents would object to watching the show with their tweens and teens, especially considering the messages around personal empowerment and healthy relationships. Genre fans will latch onto this campy yet romantic tale set in one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth. The attractive men with Irish accents don’t hurt either.