Boasting the largest audiences, obscene sums of guaranteed monthly revenue, and a never-ending list of upcoming productions, Netflix is able to tap into just about every genre, niche, and preference going.
Now, while Christmas movies are regularly circled back to each December, the streaming colossus has been seen trying to create a similar draw for other holidays around the world, including St Patrick’s Day.
Cue Irish Wish, which is the first of a two-part collaboration with Hollywood star Lindsay Lohan. As can be seen from the many articles and links put out by Netflix, they were highly keen on making Irish Wish a hit and on normalising St Patrick’s Day as more of a staple movie night. In some ways, Irish Wish did a grand job of showcasing Ireland and welcoming international audiences to it, but in other ways, it’s become the film Ireland doesn’t want to be attached to.
A Beautiful Film Tapping into the Classic Irish Angle
To the film’s credit, the bulk of it was shot in Ireland. This sounds like shallow or even sarcastic praise, but in this age of green screen obsession, CGI gone mad, and the much-maligned volume stage, a film called Irish Wish actually being filmed in Ireland deserves some amount of praise. For filming, the team used the Clarence Hotel in Wellington Quay and the mighty Killruddery House in Bray.
As well as this, there were plenty of scenic shots of the Cliffs of Moher, the town square in Westport, and Lough Tay in the Wicklow Mountains. Most of the scenes in the film are either in a beautiful place or have a simply stunning backdrop. On top of this, there’s the natural allure of the angle of well-known Irish superstitions that run wild through entertainment media.
Lohan described it as a “nice story of luck and love and confidence” at Tudum Festival prior to its release, which is a touchstone that people around the world can connect to. This is espcially true beyond Ireland, with the four-leaf clover, horseshoes, rainbows, and leprechauns all being known in countries like the UK, US, and beyond as icons of the Irish.
After all, the Irish theme of lucky and lucky symbols is one of the most prevalent and popular in the entertainment world of online slots at bingo sites UK players can access. Of course, gambling is all random chance, and luck doesn’t play into it, but you’ll still see the associated iconography in slots like 9 Pots of Gold, Area Link Luck 4 Lucky Charms, and Amazing Link Riches.
A Purposeful Downgrade in Writing
Being highlighted as both Netflix’s top pick for March and for their St Patrick’s Day celebrations, plenty of eyes were on Irish Wish. Unfortunately, that didn’t help the response to the film. It rose to number one on the platform, but it has since been pointed to as the clear example of Netflix’s less-than-savoury new approach to filmmaking. This is predominantly because of the excess, overt, and outright jarring exposition.
Some lines of dialogue between the characters in the film were included mainly to enable viewers who’re on their smartphones and tablets while Netflix is on in the background to keep up with the story. Relaying the report and information from N+1 magazine, World of Reel showcases lines from Irish Wish that demonstrate how Netflix have reportedly told writers to adjust their scripts and stories to cater to the limited attention spans of many audience members.
In one way, you could say this approach landed well with the Netflix audience, what with it flying up their viewership charts. On the other, you’d think that the approach should be to hire better writers and have better producers and script supervisors to create more compelling stories that demand viewers put down their devices. It’s the more difficult path, and one that Netflix is seemingly not willing to embrace.
So, on the one hand, Irish Wish visually and thematically plays very well for the nation it was filmed in, but on the other, it’s become the demonstration of the streamer encouraging a downgrade in writing.
