The Real Victim of People We Meet on Vacation: Me

I was so excited for People We Meet on Vacation, and as soon as the casting choices came out, I had no reservations that this was going to be the movie to usher in a new age of rom-coms.

However, as my mom and I sat on the couch, itching with anticipation, I kept wondering when this movie was going to end. As someone who never read the book, I didn't have an already established connection to any of the characters. Maybe I was expecting too much from the movie, but this one just did not hit. At the end of the day, I wouldn't call this movie terrible, but it took advantage of tropes and forsakes what had all the ingredients to be a moving story.

The movie casts Emily Bader (My Lady Jane) as the main character, Poppy, and Tom Blythe (The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) as Alex. It is based on the beloved novel of the same name by Emily Henry. In the movie, a cheery Poppy and introverted Alex drive together from Boston University to their hometown, Linfield, Ohio, and in a When Harry Met Sally fashion, become friends. They made a promise to each other that they would meet up somewhere in the world for one week every summer for a vacation.

Over the course of these vacations, we see Alex and Poppy fall in love. The movie tells this in flashback: we start with Poppy in the present, nervous to see Alex again at a wedding after some undisclosed fight separated the two for around three years.

However, the movie establishes almost within the first couple of minutes that Alex and Poppy end up together by eliminating one of their biggest obstacles: Alex's long-time girlfriend, Sarah. Maybe I was exaggerating when I said I was the real victim of People We Meet on Vacation, because the only one who holds a candle to me is probably Sarah.

Image Credit: Nick Fewings from Unsplash

Note: there will be some spoilers, so proceed with caution.

Sarah

Every romcom has tropes that guide the story, whether that be: academic rivals, slow burn, love at first sight, childhood friends, etc. This movie is no different. Poppy and Alex are the classic sunshine girl and grumpy guy mixed with friends to lovers and what is supposed to be a slow burn. The problem here is that the movie also banks on a trope that should have been left in the past with The Notebook: (emotionally) cheating on my partner is okay because it is with the love of my life.

Off the bat, Alex and Poppy are forced to stay in a motel together during their road trip home, but it is quickly established that Alex has a girlfriend. Sure, over the course of Alex and Poppy's ten-year friendship, Alex is on and off with Sarah. The problem is this relationship made it impossible for me to believe that Alex had been pining for Poppy all these years because the person it seemed he kept going back to was Sarah.

Things really come to a head when Alex and Poppy invite their partners to come on one of their summer trips. Alex brings Sarah, and Poppy is with her boyfriend, Trey. What I do praise is how awkward the next couple of scenes were. You could tell immediately that the vibes were off.

When Poppy is going through a rough time during this trip, Alex wants to be there for her, and Sarah bites her tongue because she loves Alex and trusts that him and Poppy are just friends. However, within the next few scenes, Poppy and Alex have a near kiss, which should have been the climax, and should have been the thing that restored my hope in this movie, but the thing that was running through my head: what about Sarah?

Beyond that, Alex asks Poppy the big "what are we?" question, and Blythe delivers this line so well that viewers feels like he has been waiting for an answer to that question for a long time. The problem is that Alex does not have a clear reason to be hurt because it does not seem like he has had feelings for her for most of the movie up to this point, apart from a few longing glances sprinkled here and there.

Not only that, but him and Sarah get engaged the next morning. Alex's character does not come off well at all, proposing to your girlfriend the morning after you almost kiss your girl best friend? He is clearly hurt when Poppy tells him that they are just friends, but I saw her saying that as a way of back-peddling from what could have been a huge mistake considering that Alex is in a serious relationship.

Maybe, these are some gaps that need to be filled in by the book, but as someone who knew nothing about their story, I find it almost impossible to believe that Alex is a genuine person, who has a deep love for Poppy because I do not know anything about his motivations. He comes across as shallow, confusing, and selfish for proposing to Sarah as a safety net.

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The "Third-Act Breakup"

This movie has two third act breakups. It makes sense from the aspect that we are seeing both past Alex and Poppy and present Alex and Poppy. However, the problem is that neither of these miscommunications were developed at all.

The first, is the reason that Alex and Poppy had not spoken in the years leading up to the wedding of Alex's brother. It was the day that Alex proposed to Sarah, and Poppy tells him that she thinks he is making a mistake, sensing that he is not fully committed. He gets upset and decides that they should not be friends anymore.

However, in the present day, Alex and Poppy talk about Tuscany and the fact that Alex is no longer with Sarah. In an emotional moment Poppy asks Alex if she was the reason he and Sarah broke up. What I didn't understand here is that never once did either of them admit their feelings to each other, so this sentence is her confession, but Alex goes on as if he has known this whole time.

Eventually, they get together, admitting that they have always been in love with the other. Despite a few stolen glances, I literally had no idea they were 'in love' this entire time. But no, the movie is not over yet, Alex and Poppy dance together at the wedding, and he presses her on how they are going to work out their relationship. Not even 24 hours after they first get together.

She does not have an answer for him, he is upset that she is not completely sure and ends whatever it was that they were doing. He goes back to Ohio and Poppy goes back to her apartment. Until, she has a revelation that her life is not fulfilled without Alex, so she sets off on the classic grand gesture to go find Alex in the place she hates most, Ohio.

Image Credit: Steve Shook from Wikimedia Commons

She finally finds Alex and tells him she is in love and will go wherever if she gets to be with him and they kiss. This should not be underwhelming, I mean it happens in every beloved romcom, but the problem is that we have not spent enough time with Alex's character and I really don't care whether or not they end up together.

In fact, to me, it should have been him chasing her or at least acknowledging his own part in it all. He tells Poppy he has been in Ohio waiting for her. Alex, let me ask you some questions: Weren't you in Ohio because you were living there with Sarah?

Why would you wait for Poppy in a place that she would never go? These questions are never answered by the way.

"Timeless" Romcoms

Image Credit: Brett Jordan from Unsplash

You'd never know this movie took place over the course of a decade without the little markers on screen telling you we are watching a memory from # years ago. The music, even though I thought the soundtrack was pretty good, stays modern throughout. The clothing, which I also liked, also stays the same.

There is no indication that time is passing because the actors look exactly the same, the backtrack is all fairly recent music, there is barely any mention of technology, and finally, Poppy is wearing modern fashion throughout the entire movie. In a time where nostalgic films are all the craze, it is a bit weird that I don't see any 2000s/2010s fashion, or frankly anything from the past. In the movie's attempt to remain 'timeless' (loved by all audiences) it loses some of the magic.

Conclusion

To be honest, the movie is not as bad as I am implying, but it definitely does not hold a candle to its predecessor: When Harry Met Sally. It was a good concept, but the execution was not there. I am sure that readers of the book will find something to appreciate about it, but as a non-reader I found myself questioning if the love between the two leads was actually there.