With very few “traditional rom-coms” being released nowadays, People We Meet on Vacation fills that void by delivering on loveable characters with a pretty stereotypical plot.

I consider myself a pretty well-read person.  I try to keep up with the popular authors and give them all a chance.  But my one blind spot is reading anything by Emily Henry.  Her books are everywhere and yet I still have not picked any of them up.  Romance is not usually a genre I gravitate towards but I don’t actively avoid it either.  And after watching this film, I am more intrigued than ever to dive into her works.

People We Meet on Vacation follows Poppy and Alex as they see each other in Barcelona for a wedding for the first time in two years after their friendship fallout two summers previous.  Through flashbacks from past summer trips together, we learn more about what connects these two, but also what pulled them apart.

At first, the characters come off as pretty run-of-the-mill rom-com leads.  Alex is your typical level headed guy who is just trying to do what is expected of him.  Then you have Poppy, an outgoing girl who is the textbook definition of ‘quirky.’  Sometimes when a character comes off this way, they can become a bit annoying to watch.  She was getting on my nerves a little bit too in the beginning of the film.  But as we got to know her, I made a horrible realization; I am just like Poppy.

I do not usually find myself connecting with characters so deeply in the media I consume.  It is nothing I have ever felt discouraged by – it just never really seemed to happen to me.  I have loved exploring stories of those from backgrounds different from my own.  But it was refreshing to see a character so much like me – showing both my strengths and weaknesses to a great personal degree.  Poppy is a character so full of life who isn’t afraid to show people how happy and bubbly she can be.  I have gotten comments along the lines of “You always seem so happy” from friends and coworkers for as long as I can remember.  And while it is always nice to be that glass half full kind of person like Poppy, we also share a similar worry.

The biggest fear I have is ending up alone, whether that is because people have passed or – and the main reason for my fear – I become too much for people to handle and we end up drifting apart.  Even though I have some of the most amazing people in my life, the fear still lives within me.  Poppy knows that she is a lot to handle because of how she expresses her interests and personality, so she thinks that makes her unloveable.  I have had these same thoughts in my life.  I am thankful for my wonderful fiance, who not only helps keep this fear at bay, but also loves my quirks and wants them to flourish.  My fear of ending up alone is not gone, but he reminds me that every kind of person not only can be loved but deserves to be loved.  And I hope people who share my fear are able to also find a connection with Poppy.

Emily Bader and Tom Blythe are a match made in heaven for the characters of Poppy and Alex.  They bring so much life to this film where having the wrong actors could have made it so much harder to watch.  Their chemistry is amazing, bringing these characters to life and making them feel like real people.  They are goofy and annoying but you want them to end up together so bad because of how well they bounce off of each other.  It is so aggravating watching them in their past summer vacations because their energy is so palatable that it urges you to root for their eventual relationship. They are the heart and soul of this film and are the reason why the humorous and heartfelt moments work so well together.  While I am unfamiliar with Bader’s filmography, seeing Blythe go from evil and cunning young President Snow in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes to heartthrob makes me excited to see where his career will go after this.  These two deserve their leading character status, and I hope this success continues into roles in their future.

It is good to have great leads because at the end of the day, this is still a typical romantic comedy.  You can guess the story beats that the film is going to take and there is not really anything groundbreaking with the genre.  Not to say that that is necessarily a bad thing, but it is  a noticeable one that lead me to predicting how the end was going to happen about one quarter of the way through.  And that is something people yearn for as the traditional rom-com seems to be few and far between.  This fills that gap and will make you tear up and laugh and what more could you ask for.

I am excited to dive into Emily Henry’s novels and look forward to seeing them become films and television shows and I don’t think I would be saying that if the film was not enjoyable.  The leads are wonderful and they represent real feelings people have and finding someone I could relate to so much is always going to be a positive in my book.  Get together with your book club and check this out.

Grade: B+

Oscar Prospects:
Likely: None
Should Be Considered: None

Where to Watch: Streaming on Netflix