“People We Meet on Vacation” found a home in my heart
Queuing up “People We Meet on Vacation,” my expectations were low and my patience for another un-needed book to movie adaptation even lower. When the credits started to roll, I was stunned with love and admiration for the dying art of rom-com movies, and filled with motivation to live my own life like it is a movie.
Despite meeting all of the qualifications to be the target audience of the young-adult romantic comedy genre, I have always found it difficult to sit through novels like “People We Meet on Vacation” without feeling like I was losing brain cells. Although the setting and vibes of the book made it seem like the perfect summer read, I found the plot predictable and the characters cliche. What should have taken me two afternoons to finish took me an entire month, somehow drawing me even deeper into my summer reading slump.
With all this said, I was less than enthusiastic to hear that a movie adaptation was coming to my screen, but I decided that I was going to give it a fair shot – which was the best decision I could have made. The movie stars Tom Blyth, who plays Alex Nilsen, and Emily Bader, who plays Poppy Wright, were the life and soul of the movie. They transformed characters who seemed cliche on paper into unique, layered individuals who are complete polar opposites of each other.
Poppy, a travel journalist, has a bubbly personality and quick wit, while Alex is reserved, with a love for the quiet life. Although on completely different paths, the two best friends take an annual vacation together where they can be themselves and go where the wind takes them. The film flips back and forth between the past ten summers and the present summer, when Alex and Poppy are reuniting for the first time after not speaking for two years. As predicted, a romance builds throughout the decade of vacations, culminating in the present summer.
What impressed me the most about the movie was its ability to capture the themes of the book and turn them into something even more impactful than the book itself was able to convey. Poppy’s struggle with finding her home after being on an endless vacation for her magazine juxtaposed Alex’s desire to get married and settle down, and the overarching message about overcoming your own dislikes for the person you love felt well-developed and meaningful.
Although several summers were cut out of the film, I believe it was just the right length, allowing each summer to have its own unique vibe and events without it feeling too repetitive. Despite being familiar with Tom Blyth from Suzanne Collins’ “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, I was able to completely separate the actor from the character, and alongside Emily Bader, the two took me into a completely different world that felt authentic and natural.
Without a doubt, my favorite part of the movie was its portrayal of Poppy as a girl with the strongest dedication to being herself and staying true to her beliefs and ambitions. Rather than worrying what the rest of the world thinks of her, she chooses to view the world with love and beauty, which truly shines through as the core of the film. Though it was the last thing I would expect to influence my outlook on life, “People We Meet on Vacation” stole my heart and has earned a spot on my annual rom-com re-watch list.
