By Randal C. Hill
Emily Henry is one of the reigning masters of the contemporary romance novel. Since 2020, she has written six New York Times bestsellers, and five of those witty “chick lit” publications have now been optioned for both the big and small screens.
Henry’s first book to become a movie arrives via TV on January 9. That’s when “People We Meet on Vacation” streams on Netflix. Emily’s 2021 creation, which has sold more than 2 million copies, offers a lightweight romantic plot (of course) but one that also thrums with an undercurrent of concerns of honesty and respect among the characters involved.
Poppy Wright and Alex Nilsen are best friends who have almost nothing in common. Poppy is an extroverted wild child with insatiable wanderlust (she’s a travel writer), while reserved, thoughtful high-school English teacher Alex is happy to stay home with a good book.
Despite living far apart, for the last decade the two have enjoyed getting together for a week each summer. At least, that was the case until two years ago, when their annual trip involved a massive blow-up (they haven’t spoken since).
Poppy somehow convinces Alex to take one last journey, keeping to herself the fact that this is a mission to win back his friendship. Poppy has only a week to set things right…and to lay out her true feelings for Alex.
Emily Bader (“My Lady Jane”) plays the female lead. “Poppy burns really hot and fast and she talks too much. She’s loud…But that’s just who she is.”
Alex is portrayed by Tom Blyth (“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”): “They’re each other’s yin and yang. They’re each other’s counterbalance.”
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Director Brett Haley (“Hearts Beat Loud”) says of “People We Meet on Vacation,” “My hope is that fans of the book see the care we put into bringing Poppy and Alex to life on the screen, and that new audiences will fall for them just as deeply…This is a movie that doesn’t just tell a love story,” Haley concludes. “It makes you feel like you’ve gone on vacation right alongside Poppy and Alex.”
