Based on the book by Emily Henry, People We Meet on Vacation (2026) is directed by Brett Haley and written by Yulin Kuang, Amos Vernon, and Nunzio Randazzo. It stars Emily Bader, Tom Blyth, Sarah Catherine Hook, Lucien Laviscount, Miles Heizer, Jameela Jamil, Tommy Do, Lukas Gage, Alice Lee, Molly Shannon, Alan Ruck, Spencer Neville, Ian Porter, and Madeleine Akua. The film follows Poppy (Bader), a quirky travel writer who begins to lose her passion for the job, but things soon change when she forms a friendship with a no-nonsense guy named Alex (Blyth). Because they live very different lives in different parts of the country, they form a pact to meet once a year for a week-long, ‘just friends’/platonic vacation. Over the years, the two slowly fall in love but refuse to take their connection to the next level. When they both form separate relationships before their newest vacation, their jealousy grows, forcing them to confront their feelings before it’s too late. 

        Although it recycles the typical Netflix rom-com formula, the film stands out due to the wonderful performances from Tom Blyth and Emily Bader. The latter, specifically, kind of blew me away here. As Poppy, she displays an endlessly charming quirkiness that never goes so far as to make the character feel like a cartoon. It helps that she balances the character’s goofier traits with some truly effective emotional monologues. On paper, these moments are nothing special, but Bader elevates them in a way that’s simply impossible for most performers. Blyth’s lead performance in Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) had already placed him on my radar, but here he proves he can play a more realistic kind of character. The two believably sell their ‘opposites attract’ dynamic, but never take it so far that the viewer wonders why they don’t absolutely despise each other. They have many differences, but they complement one another. 

The supporting cast features a few reasonably recognizable names, so it’s disappointing that the various side characters come and go before they can make any kind of impression. It’s as if Netflix mandated that the film have a specific number of stars, regardless of whether the script called for them. This makes the various set pieces involving these characters wildly forgettable, with the only thing carrying the film being the charm of its two leads. It’s a bit strange to see a film that fails to use Molly Shannon, Alan Ruck, and Lukas Gage; those three should be comedy gold.

 Besides the lead performances, this is basically just a frustrating roller coaster of ‘will they, won’t they?’ that leads to a climax, where, you guessed it, they get together. That being said, there are still a few occasional flashes of sharp humor, just not as many as I want from a full-on rom-com. If you’re a true fan of the genre, you’ll most likely enjoy this a lot more than I do. However, I did have a smidge more fun with it than I typically do with NETFLIX comedy releases. 

Overall, this is a formulaic streaming rom-com that’s elevated by two impressive (one of them, especially) lead performances. Emily Bader’s lead debut is such a movie-stealer, we’re all but guaranteed to be seeing her in films incessantly for at least the next 2 years. As of writing this, she’s already been cast in a project as US women’s soccer legend Mia Hamm. I’m excited to see what she does next, and the same goes for Tom Blyth. If you like these kinds of goofy romantic comedies and already pay for NETFLIX, check this one out; there’s a chance you’ll be pleasantly surprised. C+