People We Meet on Vacation
By becoming a travel writer, Poppy (Emily Bader) managed to turn her ultimate passion into a profession. And yet, these days, the young woman finds herself unable to enjoy the paid trips and produce wanderlust-inducing content. An invitation to her former best friend’s brother’s wedding stirs the hope that reuniting with Alex (Tom Blyth) and rekindling their bond will pull her out of her slump.
Like the Emily Henry novel it is based on, the film’s timeline alternates between events of this summer and past vacations the odd pair found themselves on: chronicling Poppy and Alex’s journey from reluctant carpool companions to friends – and possibly something more. Depending on which aspects they appreciated most about the book, fans of the bestseller will either be elated or mildly disappointed at the Netflix adaptation. Director Brett Haley succeeds in striking the right balance between humorous tone and thoughtful exploration of romantic compatibility. Wrapping up the paperback’s 400 pages in a neat two hours, a number of shortcuts are taken to get to where the story is headed. In doing so, one misses a gradual buildup of the friends’ will-they-won’t-they. Viewers may mourn the lack of simmering tension and bittersweet yearning that give the trope – and arguably the entire genre – its emotional pull.
Another factor that feels somewhat underdeveloped is the portrayed experience of vacations. What should have been a cinematic invitation to explore is often reduced to obligatory establishing shots for the destinations, while the narrative either remains confined indoors or renders the backdrop nondescript. Breaking from this pattern is the segment set in New Orleans, in which we finally get a sense of the colourful excitement of the city, and which could easily be used by its tourism board as an ad (and already might be, judging from the promotional tour).
The feature’s most powerful asset is its cast. In his first romantic lead, Tom Blyth might be the name drawing audiences, but the show belongs to his co-star. People We Meet on Vacation is poised to serve as a star-making vehicle for Emily Bader, who revives the warm and earnest spirit of the rom-com boom era. Bader perfectly captures Poppy’s zest for life, turns her extroverted and thrill-seeking nature into pure screen delight. Using her face like an expressive instrument, playing it with total command, her comedic genius makes even the cheesiest jokes work for her. There are lines from the book sewn into the script like patchwork Easter eggs, a gambit occasionally only saved by the actors’ audacious delivery.
Blyth’s character bears the brunt of the usual adaptation pitfalls. The author spared no effort in making her readers fall in love with Alex as they get to know him: she gradually reveals little details of his backstory that build into a richly complex person; something that is flattened into one fleeting remark in the movie. While the novel never labels him autistic, his introspective, routine-oriented traits only register as being a little reserved during Alex and Poppy’s meet-cute and a peevish dislike of the saxophone. Nevertheless, underwritten as “Movie Alex” may be, the crime pales in comparison to the female characters reduced to love interests throughout film history.
Overall, the film mirrors the energy of the Robyn song featured in its trailer and the airport bag-carousel scene: poppy (no pun intended), youthful, and almost unsentimental in its straightforwardness – even if it could have done without one of the other overly literal needle drops. When funds won’t allow a proper holiday, People We Meet on Vacation is a delightful substitute, but go in expecting a pleasant weekend getaway instead of an around-the-world-voyage.
Selina Sondermann
People We Meet on Vacation is released on Netflix on 9th January 2026.
Watch the trailer for People We Meet on Vacation here:
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