People We Meet On Vacation review: Netflix's new rom-com is familiar, feel-good but not extraordinary!

Starring Emily Bader and Tom Blyth, People We Meet on Vacation is predictable in many ways but we're not complaining!

People We Meet On Vacation review: Based on Emily Henry’s best-selling novel, People We Meet On Vacation already has a loyal fanbase for the story. So when Netflix announced its screen adaptation, there was rightfully a lot of chatter about it online. As someone who hasn’t read the book and knew nothing about the story, I was ready for it to hit me with what it’s got. But as I watched, the movie did not have anything extraordinary about it at all. It was nothing I hadn’t seen before and yet, it’s easy-going nature just somehow worked for me, I guess?

The story revolves around enemies turned into besties Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex(Tom Blyth), who co-incidentally grew up in the same town but never knew each other until they met at college. Even though their first meeting wasn’t the best one, they feel intrigued by each other’s personalities to the point where they become friends. They are polar opposites as people. Emily is more free-spirited, adventurous and expressive while Alex is a creature of habit, who loves sticking to a plan and hates most things around him. On paper, this is a couple that’s not meant to be together. That and the fact that they both want to keep things platonic. Alex has his on and off girlfriend Sarah (Sarah Hook) and Poppy had someone to date every summer. But after their first trip to Canada, these besties make a pact to travel to a new destination every summer, no matter where they’re working or who they’re dating. They gotta show up for the trip. 

Also Read: Stalking, breaking-in and obsessive fan behaviour, Idol-I is exposing K-pop’s most uncomfortable truth!

The pact was flawed and unfair to begin with. No partner of theirs was ever going to be okay with the concept of these two travelling the world together. But they do and with constant sexual tension between them. After travelling around every summer for a decade, things go haywire on their Tuscany trip and the two have to put a stop on their friendship for two years. Until they meet again for a wedding in Barcelona. That’s when I realised that People We Meet On Vacation isn’t about two single people who meet on vacation and hit it off. It’s about the people Poppy and Alex meet on these trips and how it brings them one step closer to each other. 

It’s the same rom-com recipe we have seen before. From the very first scene itself you know how this one’s going to end. But did it still give me romantic scenes to swoon over? Yes. Did it make me feel single multiple times while watching this? One hundred percent, yes! In an era where we’re stuck watching rom-coms where logic fully leaves the chat, at least this one keeps you invested with a story that makes sense. I know it’s the bare minimum but we’re living in times where we need to be grateful for even that! People We Meet On Vacation is light hearted and works perfectly if you want to put on a movie that does not ask too much of your energy as a viewer. It does demand constant questioning, neither does it test your attention span. And maybe that’s exactly what most of us need after a hectic week at work!

People We Meet On Vacation is currently streaming on Netflix!

For more reviews, follow us on @socialketchupbinge