Emily Henry took the romance novel world by storm in 2020 with the release of Beach Read. When People We Meet on Vacation came out two years later, she cemented herself in the romance canon. As a committed follower of Henry’s career, I was delighted when Netflix announced a movie adaptation of People We Meet on Vacation, the story of travel writer Poppy and the shy, quiet Alex. Even though it is my least favorite book she has released so far, I looked forward to seeing one of my favorite author’s work on my screen.
Unfortunately, People We Meet on Vacation didn’t hold up quite as well as I’d hoped. While a younger me was entranced by Poppy’s belief that small towns are a trap that force you to be someone you aren’t and that travel can solve all ills, four years later it doesn’t hit quite the same. It does get better as the film goes along, but one hour into a rom-com is far too long to wait before liking about the main character. Part of that is my stage of life, but a far larger part is the fact that this is a male directed film that doesn’t invest in Poppy’s characterization.
The romance is told primarily from the perspective of Poppy, yet she is one-dimensional in a way that she isn’t in Henry’s novel. Actress Emily Bader does her best to portray Poppy’s annoying-yet-lovabable qualities, but it comes off more Manic Pixie Dream Girl than real human being. While that energy was present in the book, it was offset by the fact that Poppy had an interior monologue, none of which we get in the movie version.
Although there was an attempt to include non-white actors in the film, each character serves only as a learning opportunity for Poppy or Alex. Poppy’s best friend Rachel (Alice Lee) goes to Soul Cycle and gives her someone to talk to about Alex. Her boss, Swapna (Jameela Jamil) provides exposition telling us that Poppy was once a great writer despite her current struggles, and encouragement that she will become successful once again. Lucien Laviscount of Emily in Paris fame and Madeleine Akua serve as hook-ups on the route to Alex and Poppy finding each other. It continues to be frustrating when films refuse to flesh out any of their non-white characters. It’s a far too common trope. The film would be far better served by more dynamic roles, and the actors who play these parts deserve it as well.
That isn’t to say there was nothing to love about this movie. People We Meet on Vacation delivers on the lighthearted fun that exists in all of Henry’s writing. Alex (Tom Blythe) clearly loves Poppy, and that energy is enough to make any film worth watching. There were so many scenes—from the dancing at the bar to nearly kissing in Touscany—that left me grinning. If I’d gotten wine drunk and gone to see this at the theater with my best friends, it would have been perfect. At home on my couch, I’m a bit of a harsher critic.
I still found myself cheering for the romance, at first because I was supposed to and then because the chemistry between Blythe and Bader took a messy script and brought it together well. The make-out scene didn’t necessarily feel deserved, but it was enjoyable!
People We Meet on Vacation is worth watching if you are a fan of Henry or the romance genre in general. It won’t break any boundaries or win awards, but it’s a fun first installment in what I hope will be many Henry-inspired book-to-movie adaptions to come.
Comments