The Lindsay Lohan Rom-Com Flop Blowing Up The Netflix Charts Right Now

Netflix has been making original romantic comedies for some time now, and for every success ("Set It Up," "Always Be My Maybe"), there's a total flop. Enter "Irish Wish," which marks Lindsay Lohan's first film since 2022 (the similarly silly "Falling for Christmas," which features a hilarious "Mean Girls" throwback) and is also patently absurd.

Although the movie is — to be frank — a mess, it's currently soaring on the Netflix charts. Since it dropped on the service on March 15 (just in time for St. Patrick's Day weekend), it has been extraordinarily popular, ranking second on the streamer's worldwide Top Movies list. The film stars Lohan, who wasn't heard from much after appearances in major hits like "Mean Girls" and "Freaky Friday." It also features Ed Speelers ("You," "Star Trek: Picard"), Alexander Vlahos ("Versailles"), Elizabeth Tan ("Emily in Paris"), Ayesha Curry (Steph Curry's wife), and Jane Seymour. 

So, what's happening here? What do critics and fans think of "Irish Wish," and why is it blowing up on Netflix? Also, what is going on in this movie?

"Irish Wish" casts Lindsay Lohan as book editor Maddie Kelly, who you immediately know is a busy, frazzled career woman because she gets her scarf stuck in a car door. Unfortunately for her, she's in love with one of her authors, Paul Kennedy (Alexander Vlahos). Not only is he oblivious to that fact, but he barely writes his books, leaving the heavy lifting to Maddie (only for him to take all the credit in the end). 

Before Maddie can tell Paul how she feels, he hits it off with Maddie's best friend, Emma Taylor (Elizabeth Taylor), and eventually, Maddie heads to Ireland for the couple's wedding. After meeting handsome nature photographer James Thomas (Ed Speelers), she makes a wish — one made to some sort of Irish spirit (played by Dawn Bradfield), specifically — that she could be the one marrying Paul Kennedy. The next morning, Maddie wakes up as his fiancée.

Anyone who's ever seen a romantic comedy knows where this is going. Maddie has next to nothing in common with Paul, but bonds with James over loving James Joyce and the Cliffs of Moher. Emma and Paul, even in this timeline, start falling for each other, while Maddie struggles with her feelings for James. A whole lot of nonsense ensues, but ultimately, Maddie reverses the wish and meets James all over again.

Critics didn't think much of Lindsay Lohan's "Irish Wish." Vulture writer Rachel Handler was perhaps the most direct, calling the movie a "crypto-fascist, AI-generated harbinger of doom" before saying, "Now that I have seen Netflix's latest film, 'Irish Wish,' I realize I have been but a hapless pawn in a larger sociopolitical plot to maintain the status quo, quell dissent, replace much of the workforce with AI, install a permanent Christian theocratic dictator, and make Ireland look weird for some reason." (This is hyperbole, to be sure, but Handler's moment-by-moment analysis of the film still helps parse its most ridiculous moments.)

Over on Rotten Tomatoes, the film's overall critical consensus is pretty bleak apart from its praise for Lohan: "With Lindsay Lohan in the lead, it almost doesn't matter that 'Irish Wish' is a scattered collection of rom-com clichés." Based on some of the "rotten" reviews — and the film's relatively low score — the word "almost" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. For The Times, Kevin Maher wrote, "It's genuinely terrible, but also oddly watchable," while Robert Kojder at Polygon wrote, "'Irish Wish' is more like a curse for anyone unfortunate enough to stumble upon it and press play." John Nugent of Empire was of two minds about the film, praising Lohan's turn in her latest attempt to secure "rom-com supremacy" while also blasting the overall film as "offensively bad."

Critics think "Irish Wish" is sort of a slog but believe Lindsay Lohan does the best she can with the material she's given. The actor's fans agree, and plenty of them posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) to sing her praises. As @cmclymer put it, "I'll be real: 'Irish Wish' is not a great flick, but it's a decently fun watch. It'll make you smile in parts and if it gets Lindsay Lohan worthier projects in the long run, it's worth a view."

People agreed with Charlotte Clymer; user @LucaGuadagnegro wrote, "'Irish Wish' was complete rubbish but [I] loved every minute and [L]indsay [L]ohan still has IT." Meanwhile, @dylandreaming said the movie is above criticism because it's not pretending to be high art, writing, "tbh you can't rank on this movie ... it's exactly what it needed to be, harmless, light fun. I'll take 10 more Lindsay Lohan romantic comedies please"

Some people, naturally, had fun with it, like @MediumSizeMeech — who pointed out that a United States landmark changed colors for St. Patrick's Day weekend. "Omg the Empire State Building turned itself green in [honor] of Lindsay Lohan's Irish Wish debuting on Netflix!!!"

"Irish Wish" is streaming on Netflix now, so you might want to join in the fun and check it out for yourself. To read more about the rom-com's star, check out our explainer of a rumor suggesting Lohan will play a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.