Creating a Rom-Com Like ‘Irish Wish’ Isn’t Easy

Irish Wish was a fun romantic comedy that highlights the genre tropes we know and love while putting Lindsay Lohan back in the driver’s seat. Literally, she falls head over heels into a car at one point. In talking with the creatives behind the Netflix original, you can tell that the film was a labor of love.

When attempting to nail down the perfect feel for a rom-com, it is necessary to look back at the classics. Director Janeen Damian and her producer husband Michael had a list of their romantic comedies. “We go back to the greats,” Michael said, namechecking “When Harry Met Sally…”. Janeen Damian referred to “the John Hughes movies” before Michael gave a shout-out to Moonstruck.

For Janeen, it’s all about how these films make the audience feel. “Just romance and, and laughter and emotion. And we just love the whole feel-good aspect of it. For us, it doesn’t need to be edgy and gritty. We like for you to walk out feeling better than when you came in and just to go for a really fun ride.”

Bringing Lindsay Lohan into the fold

One of the appeals of Irish Wish is watching Lindsay Lohan back in action. The actress joined the Netflix extended rom-com universe with 2022’s Falling for Christmas (also directed by Janeen) and has plans to appear in more original films for the streamer. As for the Damians, it was all about finding the right timing. “It was the right right timing,” Michael said. “It was the right timing for her. It was the right timing for what we wanted to do. And we had started with Falling for Christmas. But we were excited. That was the number-one movie around the world. And she was off to the races, so to speak, and now we feel like she’s at an elevated level in Irish Wish and she’s kind of in this upward trajectory.”

For Janeen, it was all about Lohan’s comedic talent. “She’s really so immensely talented and she can do absolutely anything, but it’s really fun to see her like this. I think that her fans are ready for it. And she is such a smart actor and she knows what material she wants to explore, and this was something that she was ready to do right now, and we all fell into place together on it. And we’re just thrilled with the way it turned out.”

You can see our interview with co-star Ed Speleers (Downton Abbey) for Irish Wish here:

Irish Wish is on Netflix now!

(featured image: Netflix)