Fans of Emily Henry have been very excited to see her work come to life in her first film adaptation. People We Meet on Vacation is the romcom everyone’s been waiting for.
★★★★☆
Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex (Tom Blyth), friends from college, could not be more different. Yet every summer, they come together to spend their favourite week of the year travelling. Spanning over a decade, through many highs, lows, and spontaneous vacation hijinks, the two are facing their most difficult vacation yet. Meeting in Barcelona for a wedding, after two years of not speaking, a decade of emotions and memories come swirling back to them.
It is a common consensus that reading the book before watching the movie is the best way to go about engaging with adaptations, but here the opposite might be a better approach. The movie acts almost as a trailer for the story of Poppy and Alex, inviting you to discover their lives within the pages instead of on the screen.
Certain liberties have to be taken to fit a whole book into less than two hours, but some of the best dialogue and character building are unfortunately left out. There are missing parts of the characters, known and loved from the book, that make the movie feel slightly rushed and underdeveloped—and may disappoint dedicated fans.
Some changes led the characters to look morally ‘worse’ than they appear in the books, with the introduction of themes like adultery adding a whole other narrative to the story. Although it adds complexity and a fallible human aspect to the characters, it creates a certain disconnect from the characters; without knowing what happens in the book, it makes them harder to love.
The soundtrack for the film is phenomenal, and adds something really fun to the scenes. They use the music to draw you into the emotion of a scene; like Paula Abdul’s ‘Forever Your Girl’, bringing you into the feverish glimmer of a New Orleans vacation and a colorful dive bar. The film also hooks you, visually, in the first ten seconds; idyllic international holidays and gorgeous scenery will have you Googling vacation spots from the couch as you watch.
Casting characters that are close to many readers’ hearts is a challenge—it’s impossible for a single actor to fulfil the expectations of every viewer. However, the choices here are impeccable.
Emily Bader as Poppy embodies all the life and joy of the character, simultaneously silly and carefree, but insecure and scared, working her way through the world while trying not to let it dim her light.
Tom Blyth’s Alex is strict and closed off, glimpses of who he really is only seen when ‘Vacation Alex’ comes out. His guarded nature and the contrast of who can be around Poppy shows the connection the two of them have and how they work with the other. Blyth played both, similar but very different, aspects of his character very well.
People We Meet on Vacation embodies the quintessential romantic comedy vibe that’s so loved in movies like When Harry Met Sally (1989) and You’ve Got Mail (1998). Many romcoms have tried, and failed, to perfect that feeling. But People We Meet on Vacation found the formula for a heartfelt and immensely enjoyable watch. The rise of conflict, understanding and feeling for the characters, but also being happy when it is all resolved in the end is a hard sell. Building complex and relatable characters, and a plot that supports them and their growth, is hard to do…but it was done well here.
The Verdict
With colourful visuals, great music, and extravagant vacations, this movie is both heartwarming and exciting. Inspired by the famed romcoms of the ’90s, there is a playfulness and an aesthetic to this film that makes it the perfect movie night watch.
Words by Gracyn Gilliam
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.