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On paper, “People We Meet on Vacation” seems like the perfect Netflix movie for the long winter months. It’s a sun-splashed, ultra-glossy romantic comedy about two best friends with a “will-they-won’t-they” dynamic traveling all over the globe. It’s the perfect escape from the dreary January weather. Or, at least, it would be, if it wasn’t another Netflix original movie misfire.
Based on the best-selling novel by Emily Henry, there’s a degree of potential here and the trailer certainly presents a fun watch, but actually streaming “People We Meet on Vacation” is kind of like booking a luxury Airbnb apartment only to turn up and find the website images are a decade out of date, the air conditioning is broken and there’s a funky smell in the bathroom.
Whatever romance or guilty pleasure fun “People We Meet on Vacation” had on the page (I’m informed that it’s a great beach read) is lost in its transition to the screen. The reasons are too numerous to count, but I’m going to try and highlight the biggest flaws in this disappointing Netflix movie down below. Here’s why I definitely don’t recommend “People We Meet on Vacation.”
What is ‘People We Meet on Vacation’ about?
Poppy Wright (Emily Bader) is a free-spirited go-with-the-flow type. Alex Nilsen (Tom Blyth) is uptight and obsessed with his carefully planned itinerary. They’re complete opposites, but much like magnets (a clunky metaphor that crops up in the movie), sometimes opposites attract.
Despite their very different personalities, they unexpectedly become best friends during an unplanned college road trip from Boston to Ohio. As the unpredictability of growing up threatens to see them drift apart, they agree to take a vacation together every summer to ensure they remain close.
Set over several summers, “People We Meet on Vacation” follows Alex and Poppy’s shifting dynamic, as they start to wonder if their best friend and dependable travel buddy might actually be the person they should be with.
‘People We Meet on Vacation’ is a rom-com on autopilot
“People We Meet on Vacation’s” biggest flaw is that it fails the most crucial test that any successful rom-com must pass: offering up two likeable leads, with a compelling romantic spark. It’s not that Emily Bader or Tom Blyth are necessarily at fault for this problem, but Poppy and Alex are not a couple that will be standing alongside genre titans like Harry and Sally anytime soon.
The two lead actors are undoubtedly talented. I’ve been particularly impressed with Blyth in the past as an unashamedly huge fan of “The Hunger Games” franchise. However, they lack basic chemistry on-screen together. There’s little playful banter between Poppy and Alex, and the sole scene that suggests there’s any real flame, a New Orleans dance sequence, wasn’t enough to get me invested in the potential of them starting a relationship.
Of course, the crux of the narrative is that these are two very different characters, but even by the third act, I found myself scratching my head trying to figure out exactly why these two were friends, let alone a potential couple. With a “will-they-won’t-they” dynamic that had me thinking “maybe they shouldn’t," the movie hits the rocks very fast.
It’s no perfect match when it comes to romance, and "People on Vacation" isn’t a triumph on the comedy front either. There are precious few jokes that land, unless you find Alex trekking through the woods naked amusing. I didn’t.
The writing is so formulaic that I started calling out upcoming gags ahead of time with a frightening degree of accuracy, and trust me, I’m not a skilled comedy writer. Even more frustratingly, there are actors with solid comedic chops in the supporting cast. Jameela Jamil and Alan Ruck have made me laugh plenty in other projects, but they barely feature. In fact, Ruck only shows up for a little more than a single scene.
Trying to find something positive to say, I will give some credit to the narrative structure. It’s not exactly unique, but I like how the movie opens in the present, and then flashes back through Poppy and Alex’s various summer vacations. This allows the movie to tease a previous fallout between the pair, and drip-feed details until it’s eventually revealed why they’re now on frosty terms towards the end. It’s just a shame the reason their friendship goes cold is so blindingly obvious you could guess it from a plot synopsis alone.
Oh, and the movie's soundtrack also includes Taylor Swift’s “August” from the Folklore album. Yes, that’s about the smallest positive possible, but when it comes to “People We Meet on Vacation,” I was forced to cling to even the most minor moments of joy. These are a life preserver in a sea of mediocre rom-com tropes and cliche comedy, but they can’t stop this ship from sinking.
Should you stream ‘People We Meet on Vacation’ on Netflix?
If you’re a huge fan of Emily Henry’s book, then maybe you'll find some value in streaming “People We Meet on Vacation.” For non-book readers or any Netflix subscribers looking for a movie genuinely worthy of their (potentially limited) watch time, this is not a two-hour trip you should take.
I suppose in the movie’s defence, it does have a lot in common with so-called “beach reads.” It’s disposable and predictable, and not especially well put together. However, while the best novels made for consuming on a summer vacation at least offer no-frills entertainment, “People We Meet on Vacation” fails to meet even this much lowered bar. It’s a thoroughly unpleasurable rom-com drowning in a vast ocean of significantly better genre picks.
If you’re looking for your next streaming watch, and I’ve persuaded you that “People We Meet on Vacation” shouldn’t be it, here’s a guide to everything new on Netflix in January 2026. Let’s hope the streamer’s upcoming slate of original movies represents a step up in quality.
Watch "People We Meet on Vacation" on Netflix now
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