“People We Meet on Vacation” is a Sweet Escape
After a dry spell, the good, old-fashioned romantic comedies are back and better than ever. Many of us grew up in the magical shadow of Nora Ephron, Rob Reiner, and Nancy Meyers, but somewhere along the way the studios decided they didn’t believe in love anymore. Today, fortunately, the rise of romance novels is too loud to ignore. Emily Henry is a powerhouse in the romance genre. She’s the New York Times bestselling author who penned Beach Read, Funny Story, and many more. The first five of her novels have been optioned for films, and People We Meet on Vacation by Netflix marks the first page-to-screen adaptation for Henry.
Cr. Michele K. Short/Netflix © 2025
The relationship at the center of People We Meet on Vacation begins a lot like the one in When Harry Met Sally. Two strangers share a ride from college to their hometown. Where the titular Harry and Sally believe that men and women cannot be friends, the same can’t be said for Alex (Tom Blyth) and Poppy (Emily Bader) in People We Meet on Vacation. After their disastrous trip home, they discover that they make great friends and travel partners. For seven years, they traveled together each summer, then something happened on their trip to Tuscany that wrecked their friendship. Now, Alex’s brother, David (Miles Heizer), is getting married and Poppy is invited. David is adamant that she attend, despite the fact that she hasn’t talked to Alex in two years. As one can imagine, old feelings return and it’s anyone’s guess if those feelings are romantic or friendly.
The title of the film is quite misleading, as the central couple did not meet on vacation. It loosely refers to the fact that we can be a different version of ourselves when we’re on vacation. Alex and Poppy are polar opposites, as all good rom com duos are. Poppy dreams of travel, leaving no stone unturned. Alex, when asked by Poppy at their first meeting where he’d like to go on vacation, opts for his hometown in Ohio or somewhere in Canada. Once Poppy gets him bitten by the travel bug, Alex becomes someone who needs an itinerary, while Poppy wants to be moved by the wind. The people Alex and Poppy are on vacation are perhaps their truest selves: silly, free, and fun. Most importantly, though, it’s not the vacation that makes them feel like themselves. It’s being around one another.
Cr. Michele K. Short/Netflix © 2025
Romantic comedies are meant to be silly and heartwrenching in all the right places. People We Meet on Vacation is not rewriting any genre expectations. It doesn’t have a desire to rip the rug out from under the viewer. The filmmakers know that audiences will turn to People We Meet on Vacation to escape from the wintry January gloom and hop into a world of jetsetting romance. Romantic comedies should live somewhat outside the world of possibility, but not too far. They need to feel real, or at the very least, real enough. We watch movies like People We Meet on Vacation because we want our outrageously gorgeous leads to look at each other in the pouring rain and speak the sort of line that only exists in this world. “I just wish we could go back to the way things were before Tuscany” or “Of course my engagement ended because of you.” It’s so chic! So silly! So self-important! It’s exactly what the doctor ordered for a cold, rainy day.
Inevitably, some critics will give this film a low rating because it doesn’t revolutionize the film medium and has nothing new to say about relationships. The wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented in order to have purpose in the grander scheme of things. People We Meet on Vacation is a reminder that our relationships should fulfill us, not be a drain on our identity and personality. That home can be a person. Poppy has spent years as a travel writer who used her frequent trips to ignore making real decisions or putting thought into what it is she actually wants. As she puts it, “there’s a thin line between searching and running away.” There’s also a thin line between romance and friendship, and People We Meet on Vacation revels in the magic that happens when we step across that line.
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