REVIEW: “People We Meet On Vacation”
Courtesy of Netflix
Some movies fail because they’re just plain bad. Others fail because the filmmakers completely missed what made the story worth telling in the first place. People We Meet On Vacation lands squarely in that second category. Adapted from Emily Henry’s bestselling novel, the movie seems to have all the ingredients for a ready-made rom-com hit. But somehow it manages to fumble things so hard, it winds up feeling hollow from start to finish. A quick disclaimer: I haven’t read the book. So I can’t tell you if the movie’s problems stem from the source material or from the trio of credited screenwriters taking too many creative liberties. Either way, the version that made it to the screen feels misjudged in nearly every way. If the novel offered any warmth or emotional depth, this adaptation successfully strips it all away.
The overall setup is classic rom-com territory. Free-spirited Poppy (Emily Bader) and tightly wound Alex (Tom Blyth) meet on a shared ride home from college. Along the way, a series of mishaps sparks an unlikely friendship, one they decide to maintain through big annual vacations together every summer, regardless of whatever complications life throws at them. The film, however, opens long after their friendship has imploded. Poppy and Alex are barely on speaking terms until they’re awkwardly reunited at Alex’s brother’s wedding in Spain. From there, the movie jumps back and forth in time, cutting between their current strained reunion and their earlier vacations. These glimpses are supposed to show us how their bond deepened and why it ultimately fractured. But instead, the constant time-jumping is more disorienting than revealing. Just as a scene begins to settle into something emotionally meaningful, we’re yanked away to another year, another country, and the same unresolved tension in a new setting.
To be fair, the settings are undeniably great: lush coastlines, charming streets, carefully framed sunsets. But none of it feels real or lived-in. There’s zero sense of the local culture or its people; it’s just Poppy and Alex wandering through pretty scenery. Travel here isn’t an experience; it’s more like a vivid screensaver. That same emptiness extends to the leads themselves. Neither character is particularly interesting, and the chemistry between them is nonexistent. Bader and Blyth are both capable actors, but the movie asks them to sell a deep, decade-long connection that their performances just can’t sustain. There’s no spark, no tension. Not even the sense that these two genuinely like each other. The movie insists they’re destined soulmates; the performances suggest they’d struggle to get through a quick coffee without constantly checking their phones.
And without believable chemistry, a romantic comedy is dead on arrival. Audiences need to feel that magnetic pull drawing the two main characters together. Without it, the whole enterprise collapses. Making matters worse, Poppy herself is incredibly hard to root for. Her relentless impulsiveness, which the movie mistakes for quirky, charming spontaneity, quickly becomes grating. As a result, you stop rooting for these two to work things out and start wondering why Alex keeps putting himself through such an emotional rollercoaster.
The movie’s pacing doesn’t do it any favors either. Scenes that should feel light and charming drag along at a snail’s pace, turning a seemingly fun premise into a slog. This is especially surprising given director Brett Haley’s track record of making warm, keenly observed, character-driven movies. Here, he seems to be phoning it in with a kind of easy detachment, as if he’s not sold on the premise or central romance himself but still felt the need to cobble together something.
People We Meet On Vacation isn’t a complete disaster. It’s just something arguably worse: aggressively disappointing. Its biggest flaw is how little it makes you feel. What should have been a fun, memory-soaked romantic romp instead feels like being forced to flip through someone else’s vacation photos. It’s pleasant enough for a moment, but increasingly difficult to sit through. By the time the credits roll, the takeaway is clear: this isn’t just an easily forgettable trip, but one best skipped altogether.
People We Meet On Vacation is currently available to stream on Netflix.