⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆
Directed by: Brett Haley
Starring: Emily Bader, Tom Blyth
People We Meet on Vacation adapts Emily Henry’s bestselling 2021 novel into a warm, reflective romantic comedy that blends friendship and love in a way that feels familiar yet heartfelt. The story follows Poppy and Alex, two longtime best friends who have spent a decade of annual summer vacations together — even as their lives develop in very different directions. When a falling-out leaves them estranged, one last trip brings them back together and forces them to reckon with what’s really between them.
This is not a genre reinvention; it’s a reminder of why romantic comedies still work when they focus on real characters, real feelings, and the messy path from friendship to something more.
Emily Bader shines as Poppy, a free-spirited travel writer whose enthusiasm and vulnerability give the role genuine emotional weight. Tom Blyth matches her with a grounded, thoughtful turn as Alex — reserved, steady, and deeply believable as someone who’s quietly devoted even while wrestling with his own life plans.
Their chemistry feels effortless, like old friends you’ve known for years. It’s the kind of dynamic that makes you believe in the decades of annual vacations they’ve shared, and it’s often what carries the emotional beats of the movie.
Brett Haley directs with a light, confident touch, letting the story unfold with easy pacing and a fluid blend of past and present. The movie jumps between flashbacks of earlier vacations and the current trip with a breezy rhythm that feels natural rather than gimmicky.
Yes, the plot follows familiar rom-com beats — friends become lovers, misunderstandings stir tension, and reconciliation comes after honest conversation — but Haley and his co-writers lean into those beats with sincerity rather than cliché. The result feels like a classic template executed with care.
There aren’t fireworks or bold flourishes here — this is rom-com mechanics done right. And honestly, that’s part of the charm.
I smiled more than once. There are funny moments that might not have you laughing out loud, but they’ll certainly crack a grin — the kind of charm that sticks with you after the credits roll. The story leans into predictability, but sometimes that’s exactly what you want from a romantic comedy: comfort, familiarity, and the emotional satisfaction of seeing two people you like finally get it together.
There were moments that genuinely hit — warmed me, even teared me up a bit — because the friendship between Poppy and Alex feels lived-in. You believe this bond. You see how something more could grow from it.
This isn’t the kind of movie you dissect for plot twists — it’s the kind you return to because the characters feel like friends, and because the story reminds you why these kinds of tales still resonate.
Final Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆
People We Meet on Vacation won’t surprise you if you’re familiar with romantic comedies, but it doesn’t need to. What it does, it does well: charming leads, believable chemistry, and a story about holding onto someone who might just be “the one” without either character realizing it until the very end.
It’s warm. It’s sweet. It’s familiar in all the right ways and delivers plenty of heart along the way.
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