Director Brett Haley’s People We Meet On Vacation, released on Netflix in early January of this year, but is, without a doubt, the perfect film to watch during the summertime. The vibrant colors, gorgeous sceneries, and the fun, exciting atmosphere that this film carries makes everything feel just a little bit brighter when watching it. As the rom-com universe has been itching for another heart-warming creation like the very famous, When Harry Met Sally, many were ecstatic at the news of Emily Henry’s most popular novel, People We Meet On Vacation, coming to life on our screens. Henry is known for writing romantic heterosexual stories that mainly capture the hearts of young female readers, as well as those who live and breathe for a good rom-com. The author has consistently failed to disappoint her loyal fanbase, but with the immense appreciation for the film adaptation of her beloved novel, also brought an unfortunate amount of conflicting opinions.
Starting off with the importance of who to cast in the film, as fans of the book strongly hoped for accuracy, Haley and Henry were heavily applauded for their final decisions. Emily Bader and Tom Blyth were chosen to portray the main characters, Poppy and Alex, and fans were over the moon with this perfect pairing. Bader was previously recognized for her brilliant role in the show My Lady Jane, which has showcased her significant talent and experience in portraying a romantic storyline. Lots of her supporters from her previous roles had no doubt or concern that she was going to absolutely excel at the silly, outgoing, extroverted woman that her character, Poppy, is. And taking a look at her counterpart in the film, Tom Blyth, who has gotten a substantial amount of attention from his performance as President Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, many were begging for him to be in more romantic stories in his future when witnessing the undeniable charm he can bring to the screen. Though Blyth looks identical to how Alex is described in the novel, everyone was highly confident that he would have no issue in exhibiting the awkward, grumpy, introverted personality that brings his character to life. There is no argument that both of these talented actors have exceeded expectations when it came to portraying the “opposites attract” relationship, and all the chemistry that was promised to the readers of the novel.
Though it may have seemed like Haley had all the crucial elements for People We Meet On Vacation to live up to the book, Emily Henry’s supporters voiced their unhappiness with some of the aspects of the film after its big release. As perfect as the casting was, it was more so the structure that led to a lot of strong opinions, and fans of the book have expressed that it may be the reason why the storyline felt very rushed. When the adaptation was first announced to the public, there were some concerns roaming the air about important pieces of the story being left out due to it becoming a movie, and not a short series. Discussing the structure of the novel, Poppy and Alex have visited numerous vacation spots in each flashback chapter, but looking at the adaptation, they left out many of those important getaways to perfectly fit the length of the movie. Whereas, if you were to re-create this epic friends-to-lovers journey into a TV series, each episode would’ve showcased a different vacation the two characters took, while also leaving more room to dive deeper into the significance of each one. A good amount of Henry’s readers felt that even though there was unarguable romance within the film-–-that it was not portrayed to its fullest potential. There were many moments in the novel that were written to display character development, family conflict, and internal struggles that ended up not making the final cut. Fans overall perceived the film as a very surface-level summary of what the book is about, which is why it unfortunately received the criticism it did.
Looking through a more positive perspective, audiences that have or haven’t read the book were undoubtedly met with a lot of much-needed rom-com energy that both Haley and Henry delivered in the adaptation. Emily Bader revealed her perfect comedic timing skills through the character of Poppy and definitely reached the levels of playfulness that naturally exude from her. We also witnessed Tom Blyth transform himself into the Alex that is easy to adore, and somehow exhibited charisma even through his most grumpiest moments. Most importantly, both actors perfectly excelled at performing the famous friends-to-lovers trope, and made it impossible to disregard the chemistry that was executed in both the friendship and the relationship. Though many watchers had found a lack of crucial aspects that were presented in the book, it can also make many recognize what the film actually gained. How many romance movies have a dance sequence to “Forever Your Girl” by Paula Abdul?
At the end of the day, Brett Haley created a fun, flirty movie that’s definitely mandatory for a night in with your bestest girl friends. For taking the wheel on a book-to-movie adaptation, he succeeded at capturing the soul of the story and bringing his vision to life. Author Emily Henry is consistently acknowledged in the romance novel genre, and to witness her bring these heart-warming stories to our screens is something that should be immensely praised. And it is no secret that thousands of book lovers cannot contain their excitement for her future projects.
