People We Meet on Vacation
Music blasts loudly in Poppy's over the ear headphones, so loudly that everyone within a five foot radius can hear the pop synth as “Hang With Me” by Robyn plays. And if that wasn't enough to attract attention, Poppy can't help herself but sing along off key with the catchy tune while she waits for her luggage to appear on the belt. As people pass by in the bustling airport, giving side glances to Poppy while she does a little dance, her bag comes into view. Completely absorbed in her own world, she continues singing as she reaches down to pick it up off the belt. She sets it down, turns, and finds a man standing behind her. She gasps and freezes in surprise, startled by his close proximity. Then she realizes she recognizes him. It's Alex, her best friend of whom she hasn't spoken to in two years. The best friend of which she's been secretly in love with for the better part of a decade.
People We Meet on Vacation, the new Netflix romantic comedy film based on Emily Henry’s best seller book of the same name, is a lighthearted, slow-burn, friends to lovers story. Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex (Tom Blyth) meet after a mutual college friend suggests they share a ride home together. It quickly becomes apparent they are polar opposites; Poppy is extremely bubbly and curious and Alex is quietly reserved and structured. The two end up stranded on the road together and have to share a motel room–the one bed trope never gets old. When they let the bickering stop and open up to each other, sparks of a new friendship ignite in this rundown motel. As their friendship in adventure grows, they decide on a pact to go on vacation together every summer. Fast forward nine years to Poppy receiving a wedding invitation from Alex’s brother, where it’s revealed these two best friends haven’t spoken to each other in years. What might have happened to drive these soulmates apart? This cute, funny, and albeit a bit of a cliche romance follows Poppy and Alex’s story over a decade of friendship, love, and self discovery.
While creative in its time lapses and various settings of travel, at its core this film is a tried and true romantic comedy. Hitting all the designated tropes; secretly falling in love with each other, a past lover in the way, a dance scene with a lot of passion for two people who are just supposed to be friends, and you can’t forget the epic chase-down-spill-your-heart-out confession with a beautiful kiss in the rain. People We Meet on Vacation is for the hopeless romantics that can’t help falling for the same overly used and highly addictive plot where two characters feel they’re not supposed to fall in love, but do it anyway.
Brett Haley adds People We Meet on Vacation to his discography of directing heartwarming and inspirational films like The Hero, Heart Beats Loud, and All the Bright Places, films that center around relationships between two people who bring out the best and truest versions of themselves. Even with more of a lighthearted romantic spin on the story compared to his other projects, Haley still manages to capture the deep complexity in the journey of understanding and accepting one’s self.
Emily Bader delivers a great performance as Poppy, portraying the free spirited girl almost too well, her exuberant character being a bit overwhelming at times. Heartthrob Tom Blyth does an exceptional job playing Alex as well, the quiet and reticent boy who decides to give adventure a try. As much as the two characters clash, they also balance each other out and allow themselves to learn and grow from one another.
Though the main theme of People We Meet on Vacation is the slow build up of Alex and Poppy falling in love, it’s also about coming to terms with the people they truly are. The plot spans a long period of time, within the formative years of a person’s life in which they are thrust into the real world and have to discover who it is they want to be. It’s about learning to be honest with themselves and confronting everything that makes them who they are, especially the parts they struggle with. Only then, when they understand and accept themselves completely, can they be free to live the life they want, with whomever they want.
- Sierra Branson
Staff Writer