So “Stranger Things” is over and you’re looking for a reason to renew your Netflix subscription. Allow me to introduce you to the movie that’s making rom-coms cool again: “People We Meet on Vacation.” 

Maybe you haven’t found your soulmate at an Illinois college. But best friends Poppy Wright and Alex Nilsen did, 10 years ago, at the University of Chicago. Or at least they did in the international bestselling novel by Emily Henry. In the movie, the meet-cute shifts east to Boston College. 

See, I’m what you’d call a “book purist.” I believe, deep in my bones, that movie adaptations should be faithful to their source material. To be fully transparent, I only finished the book a few days before it came out, so I’m not a die-hard Henry fan. But I did rate it five stars on Goodreads, so trust me when I say that, despite its changes, the film version of “People We Meet on Vacation” captures the heart of original story: the yearning of two polar opposites, the humor that ensues and the idea that your soulmate is the person you can truly be yourself around. 

It’s director Brett Haley’s understanding of this that allows the adaptation to feel like a fresh change of scenery rather than losing your luggage at baggage claim — and it starts with Boston College. Sure, it’s a small adjustment on paper, but it’s not meaningless. First, Boston is a longer drive to the characters’ hometown of Linfield, Ohio, so it creates space for new adventures to bloom. Second, it spares Henry’s homage to rom-com classic “When Harry Met Sally” without becoming a word-for-word imitation. 

“People We Meet on Vacation” doesn’t rely on nostalgia, but it doesn’t shy away from it either. In a way, that’s what makes it work. 

Like Harry and Sally, Poppy and Alex prove opposites attract. Poppy is constantly on the move, Alex craves stability, and yet their dynamic works. During a trip to Canada, the duo makes a pact that wherever they are in the world, they’ll unite every summer for a weeklong vacation. It’s a tradition they keep up for a decade, until a trip to Croatia — sorry, Tuscany — ends in disaster. Now, two years later, the two are reuniting for Alex’s brother’s destination wedding, but the feelings they’ve been harboring won’t stay repressed for long. 

The movie spans 12 years of will-they-won’t-they moments. And even though you can probably guess what the answer to that timeless question is, you’ll still find yourself alternating between kicking your feet and scolding the protagonists for being too stubborn.

I wish I could give you some big statistics of how the movie performed at the box office, but thanks to the streaming service craze, it didn’t get a theatrical release. Still, it’s off to a strong start. It debuted at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and currently sits at No. 1 on Netflix’s Top 10 Movies Watched. Plus, the marketing team is doing a pretty good job. I saw Poppy and Alex on X-ray bins at the O’Hare airport.

Netflix struck gold with its casting, although the script doesn’t always allow the stars to shine. Emily Bader, an up-and-coming talent, breathes life into Poppy — the bubbly, insecure travel writer who narrates the book. Henry herself has identified Poppy as a character that could be considered insufferable, but Bader, with her perfect comedic timing and effortless charm, makes Poppy the protagonist you can’t help but root for. Tom Blyth (as in “The Hunger Games” franchise’s young President Snow, yes) takes a quiet approach to Alex, a logic-based English teacher. His performance is subtle but not mundane, and it contrasts nicely with Bader’s portrayal. Their chemistry, as best friends and as lovers, is through the roof. 

But as individuals, there’s something missing. 

As I mentioned before, the movie mostly succeeds at preserving the book’s core. With less than two hours to portray nearly 400 pages, it combines highlights of separate trips into one and transports dialogue to new places. The transitions between summers of present and past are smooth and clever, and the timeline is labeled with the book cover’s font. But in translation from page to screen, the story loses the very thing that sets Henry’s book apart from others in the genre: the nuance of her characters. 

There’s a nod to Poppy’s and Alex’s backstories. Early in the movie, we learn that Poppy was bullied in school and Alex lost his mother at a young age. But we don’t learn that Poppy’s parents were hoarders, that the friends and partners she introduced to her family ended up leaving her. Or that Alex’s mom died during childbirth — an event that caused his father to fall apart and forced Alex to take care of his brothers at just 6 years old. These are details that drive the character’s actions and set them up for powerful arcs. Without it, they just feel watered down, like the cliches you’d expect from any other rom-com. 

The choice is a setback, but not a failure. The movie still earns its heartfelt moments. It knows just when to make you laugh and when to make you cry. The creative team works within their budget to create realistic destinations, and the color grading sets Poppy and Alex’s story against a warm, vivid backdrop. The soundtrack bridges generations, featuring tunes from the likes of Taylor Swift and boygenius to Nat King Cole and Paula Abdul. 

“People We Meet on Vacation” is the best book-to-movie adaptation I’ve seen in a long time. Sure, it needed more room to breathe and develop its characters, but — for the most part — it honors Henry’s work while creating new adventures for the characters that readers love so dearly. 

(I’d even argue the ending is better, but I’ll let you decide for yourself.) 

And in an era where critics are constantly suggesting the genre is dead, it makes for a pretty solid rom-com. 

If you’re a hopeless romantic looking to restore your faith in love, a wanderluster looking for a cure to travel blues or just a movie fanatic looking for something fun, book your tickets to see “People We Meet on Vacation.” Or, I guess in this case, fire up Netflix and enjoy the ride — turbulence and all. 

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Editor-in-chief Carly Gist can be reached at [email protected] or on Instagram @gistofthestory.

Advertisement