Lindsay Lohan’s new rom-com film on Netflix, Irish Wish, has left viewers up in arms over its distinct lack of actual Irish acting talent onscreen.
The Freaky Friday star, 37, made a welcome career comeback with the streaming platform courtesy of festive-themed Falling for Christmas in November 2022.
She’s now followed that up with the first in a new two-picture deal as actress and producer, scheduled (we assume) to capitalise on St Patrick’s Day this weekend.
However, despite (or perhaps because of) that looming annual celebration, for a film set in Ireland it’s become uncomfortably obvious that there’s nary a genuine Irish accent to be heard onscreen.
Irish Wish follows book editor Maddie Kelly (Lohan) as she travels to Ireland to watch her best friend (Elizabeth Tan) marry author and, inconveniently, love of Maddie’s life Paul (Alexander Vlahos).
Along the way she meets photographer James (Ed Speleers), but when Maddie makes a wish for true love on an ancient stone, she wakes up as the bride-to-be – and, naturally, it’s not what it’s cracked up to be.
Lohan is playing an American in the movie, while Speleers is sticking to his native English, Tan and Ayesha Curry as Heather play Lohan’s American friends, while British Jane Seymour is Lohan’s character’s mother.
It falls to Outlander star Vlahos to be the only of the top-billed stars to put on any kind of Irish brogue – but he is actually Welsh in real life.
The Irish Times review blasts the film for its ‘scandalous lack of begorrah’ and ‘criminally little Irish involvement’, while the Irish Independent notes that it’s depicting ‘a version of Ireland some might say is a smidge removed from reality’.
You’d think Hollywood might have learned from 2010’s Leap Year forcing British Matthew Goode into the grumpy local Irish pub landlord role opposite Amy Adams’s visiting Yank – but no.
‘Watching Irish Wish and I’ve instantly noticed there’s not a single Irish actor in it,’ tweeted user @SophIdek on X, while @Little_Dhampirx complained: ‘Please start hiring Irish actors for Irish roles! Please for the love of god I can’t take another bad Irish accent #IrishWish.’
‘Why wasn’t there any real Irish lead/supporting actor in #IrishWish tho? Obviously Paul Mescal or Cillian Murphy wasn’t [sic] available, but there wasn’t someone else from Ireland with enough charm/star power?’ questioned @AndhikaGodwin.
Meanwhile Kieran wanted to go to the heart of the matter, tagging the streaming platform as he asked: ‘@NetflixUK why are all the cast English in Irish Wish could you not have hired some Irish actors [sic].’
It was the same in review elsewhere too, as Marc Quinn shared on Google: This movie is offensive to the Irish people and should be banned from the country. One minute they’re in Bray and then next minute they’re at the Cliffs of Moher on the other side of the country.’
He also added: ‘The editing and acting are a joke and I’m fairly sure there’s not an Irish person in the entire movie.’
Fans claiming there’s not a single native actor in Irish Wish aren’t entirely accurate as there is genuine Irish talent onscreen, just not in any major parts.
The actress playing Irish saint St Brigid (of course) is Irish, Dawn Bradfield, while local priest Father Callahan is countryman Aidan Jordan, Matty McCabe plays Kory Kennedy and Maurice Byrne is Sean Kennedy.
However, given how outraged Brits initially were to have American Renée Zellweger play the extremely British character of Bridget Jones (and do a good job), it’s an understandable criticism from Irish fans for this film – especially as Zellweger still acted surrounded by, and opposite, English talent in Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.
Lohan’s next Netflix project, Our Little Secret, is back to a Christmas setting and sees resentful exes forced to spend Christmas under the same roof after discovering that their current partners are siblings.
Irish Wish is streaming on Netflix now.
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