The Wasteland Reviewer

People We Meet on Vacation (2026) Written Review

Have you ever had that person in your life who you loved but never got beyond being close friends? Love can be a complicated thing and timing is one of the worst elements of it. Communication can also get in the way when you never actually express your feelings to one another. If this wasn’t such a common occurrence, there would be a lot fewer romance films in the history of cinema. The “will-they-won’t-they” is one of the most common tropes in all romance films. This type of tension is such a driving force for cinematic narrative. It is not surprising then that director Brett Haley leverages such a narrative in bringing Emily Henry’s novel to life, People We Meet on Vacation. 

How does Henry’s book translate to the screen with a screenplay from Yulin Kuang, Amos Vernon, and Nunzio Randazzo? This story certainly leans into a lot of tropes and borrows a lot from other romance films. The situation that brings our protagonists, Poppy and Alex, together is them hitching a ride together back home from college. They don’t get along and they are completely opposite in personality. Sound familiar? When Harry Met Sally. There are other elements that can be easily traced back to other (unfortunately, better) films. The film also does give off that “multiple writer” vibe as much of the film is a series of occurrences and scenarios to tease the audience with the budding connection between Poppy and Alex. Poppy is gregarious and charming. She wants to see the world and experience all that life has to offer. Alex is reserved and cautious as he walks through life wanting to live a laid-back life. You can tell there is a connection, but the apprehension of Alex keeps these two apart for many years. The narrative gets a tinge scattered as it bounces through time and their relationship. At least the whole experience is just that darn charming. 

What makes this film come to life despite the tropes and scatteredness? Haley does a lot of heavy lifting in the tone department. Haley has shown in the past with films like Hearts Beat Loud that he can craft a rich and moving cinematic experience and you can feel that here. The use of music is so essential to Haley’s work, and you can feel elements of that here too. The film runs for almost two hours, but the strong pacing and atmosphere propels the narrative forward through the scattered narrative. There are charming comedic elements, but they never undercut the poignant connection and love that you can see underneath the surface throughout the film. Haley will get you hooked though with the charming atmosphere that envelops you during this romance. 

What does the cast do in capturing the audience’s attention? Poppy is brought to life so perfectly by Emily Bader. She has such a charming demeanor that she is full of energy and grabs your attention the moment she is on screen. There is something magnetic about her personality despite the overly risky and rambunctious attitude that she has. You can tell when Alex warms up to her and Tom Blyth does a fine job with his performance as well. He captures the nervousness and anxiety that is boiling underneath throughout the film. His frustration with Poppy feels so organic as well making the tension feel so poignant. But there is some noticeable chemistry between Bader and Blyth that makes this film work as well as it does. Most of the other cast members are serviceable young performers who don’t get a whole lot to work with. But there are a couple of fun standouts with Molly Shannon and Alan Ruck who portray Poppy’s parents. They are fun types of intrusive parents with a raunchy attitude. Poppy’s boss is portrayed by Jameela Jamil who is an absolute hoot whenever she is on screen. 

Is People We Meet on Vacation a fun and engaging to check out on Netflix? Haley’s film certainly is better than most romances you are going to find in the giant catalogue on this streaming service. But this is not quite Haley’s best work. But that is not necessarily important. Bader and Blyth are good together and there are fun shenanigans to enjoy. A tad overlong and scattered but still an enjoyable romance.