For everyone looking for a “book boyfriend” or maybe just a movie with the tiniest bit of whimsy—not enough to overwhelm, mind you—I might suggest checking out “People We Meet on Vacation.”
The story follows Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex (Tom Blyth), two complete opposites who forge an unlikely friendship over the course of a very long car ride to their hometown of Linfield, Ohio. Poppy is the effervescent, happy-go-lucky travel journalist that you would expect from a romcom, and Alex is the thoughtful, brooding English teacher who balances her energy.
Discovering a shared love of traveling, the two (after a whole bunch more plot) decide to travel together every summer. The film weaves between vibrant flashbacks of their summer trips and snippets of the present, where their once effortless relationship has strained.
Stepping away from plot summary, let’s get into my opinion. I loved the visual style of the movie. I am a complete sucker for bright colors, and I appreciated the wide framed shots that capture Poppy’s carefree nature.
The two hour commitment didn’t feel like too much to me—despite what people are saying online—and if anything, I felt it could have been longer since they technically had twelve years of a relationship to cover. Honestly (in a truly earnest non-hurtful way), if you didn’t like this movie then the romcom genre in general just might not be your cup of tea.
After all, isn’t the whole point of a romcom to make you laugh at a charming, slightly silly love story? I found the storyline adorable and was genuinely engaged from the beginning (I’m serious—I didn’t even pull up a game of Sudoku).
Poppy’s consistent energy and her stupid, endearing quips keep the mood light. And, yes, it was incredibly tropy but sometimes you want to stumble so the handsome male lead can swoop in– and trust me, this male lead is extremely handsome.
That said, I think this movie offers a few takeaways despite the inherent silliness of the movie. For instance, there is a dance scene which illustrates the push-and-pull of knowing when to hold on and let go, which is a lesson both characters need to learn.
Or the more straightforward idea that home is less about the place and more about the people. Neither of these are life alerting concepts, but they are a nice touch of thought to the fluff.
Clicking pause on my praise, I did have some issues. My main issue, though largely personal, was the fact that I did have some cringe-induced skips. I’m notoriously sensitive to second hand embarrassment from movies, and romcoms usually have more than fertile ground for it.
My other issue was that in the back of my mind for the whole movie I just kept thinking about Alex’s poor girlfriend because (spoiler alert) he has one the whole time. This was a horror story from her perspective, and I honestly think it wasn’t necessary to have her as a character except to create drama which there are many other ways to do. And lastly, let’s be honest, why would somewhere in Ohio have those idyllic, beautifully arranged trees. I’m not fooled.
But as I stated previously, despite my small quarrels with the film, I largely enjoyed it. If you’re looking for a breezy romcom with great chemistry, then “People We Meet on Vacation” might be worth the trip.
