All of the most popular and beloved romantic-comedy movies (aka rom-coms) were produced and released in the 2000’s. The feeling of nostalgia and inappropriate jokes that would never be allowed to air in today’s world are timeless, but these movies also fill a void for something rom-com lovers have been yearning for: a movie that hits the same spot as “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” or “27 Dresses.” Luckily for the rom-com lovers, Emily Henry’s newly-released book-to-movie adaptation of “People We Meet on Vacation” fills the long-awaited role of rom-coms to watch when you need motivation to get off your couch and start dancing around your living room.
“People we Meet on Vacation” follows the love story of Poppy Wright (Emily Bader) a magazine writer who is carefree, spontaneous, and outgoing, and Alex Nilsen (Tom Blyth) an English teacher who is a major control freak, levelheaded, but charming, this duo’s story starts during an unconventional carpool road trip from Boston College to their shared hometown of Linfield, Ohio. Their road trip goes off track;getting locked out of their car at a gas station leads to an impromptu hotel stay in the middle of nowhere. Though the start of the trip was inconvenient and rough, the two started to hit it off during their overnight stay and made it safely to Linfield in one piece as new best friends.
This one unexpected road trip started a tradition of a yearly vacation between the two. From camping trips with hippies to partying in New Orleans, Alex and Poppy are one adventurous duo. Bader and Blythe put on an excellent performance, they played the “happy, energetic girl” and “low energy, calm guy” with so much realism that carries on throughout the movie, and the display of feelings that start from tension and annoyance that eventually switch to understanding and friendship make the story of Alex and Poppy even more entertaining and fun to watch.
However, as the years go on, thoughts of whether the duo can be more than friends start to rise. Everything falls apart during their vacation to Tuscany, Italy, where they share an almost emotional kiss after a talk about their future. Unfortunately, t his almost-kiss ruins everything the duo once had. The aftermath results in Alex proposing to his on-and-off girlfriend Sarah (who is first mentioned during Alex and Poppy’s spontaneous hotel stay) and the two’s friendship unraveling.
Flash forward two years after this disaster of a kiss, Alex and Poppy are forcibly reconnected when they both attend Alex’s brother’s wedding in Barcelona. Poppy reluctantly agrees to attend the wedding and decides to call up Alex to ask whether she should come to the wedding. After finding out that Alex and his girlfriend were officially not together anymore, her decision was finalized. She is going to Barcelona.
Seeing each other face-to-face brings back all the unresolved emotions between Poppy and Alex. One rainy night after a party, Alex and Poppy both realize that they need to talk things out. One thing leads to another, and all the unshed tears and emotions come out in my favorite scene of the whole movie and possibly of 2026. Alex angrily shares his emotions and feelings: he doesn’t want to be just friends with Poppy. This leads to Poppy also confessing her love for Alex. After they both realize what was just said, the two share an actual kiss while being drenched by rain. My only thought during this scene was “finally!”.
This kiss was worth the wait as it felt like everything and more. Watching Poppy and Alex slowly fall in love with each other throughout the years was great to watch. The night after this cinematic love confession, Alex pops the big question (no, not “will you marry me”) and asks Poppy about what the future holds for them. Poppy’s hesitance gives Alex his answer: they would never be able to work together as a couple, leaving them back at square one.
Back home, Poppy realizes her mistake. In classic romcom fashion, she decides to quit her job to go and find Alex in Linfield. After locating him, she dramatically chases him down and confesses what she was too scared to say in Barcelona. She shares how she was scared to let Alex fully into her life, but that she does want to be with him. The movie then ends with Alex and Poppy happily relaxing on a beach (on another vacation, of course).
Overall, this movie fills the role of romance and comedy while also containing emotional moments and life lessons like commitment issues, friendship, and trust. Everything — the jokes, chemistry, acting, and passion — makes this movie one worth watching. If you are interested in laughing, cheesing, and possibly crying in a movie, this is the one.
