It seems like everyone has an opinion on Netflix as of late: from the finale of one its most successful IP’s in Stranger Things, its potential success in formally acquiring Warner Brothers, and what this means for the moviegoing experience. The exclusive to streaming release of People We Meet on Vacation, adapted from bestseller Emily Henry’s novel, is not a surprising move from Netflix, but a reminder of how quickly our cinematic landscape is changing.
Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid adaptation made its big screen debut over the holiday period to an astounding $139 million dollars against a budget of $35 million. McFadden’s target audience and success clearly mirrors that of Henry, so on a surface economic level it seems questionable to relegate the film to streaming. It also feels contradictory to recent romance movie trends, with great success being found in films like No Hard Feelings, Anyone but You and against all odds perhaps in yet another book adaptation, It Ends with Us. More importantly however than the benefits a theatrical release could hold for Netflix, I question the cultural endurance of a movie that isn’t released in theatres.
Using the last example, It Ends with Us had potentially one of the most disastrous press tours in recent history, even resulting in a lawsuit between its main star and director, based on the accusations of a coordinated smear campaign. During this time I was attending school, and I firsthand experienced the impact this had on the films notoriety, and you could not escape the talk about this film for the life of you, particularly amongst young women. I talked about Blake Lively more in that week than I expect I ever will in my lifetime (Like sincerely. From a longtime Gossip Girl fan). The film had garnered a lot of negative attention already in mainstream critical spaces like Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd, but was still generating an absurd amount of ticket sales, because people were so deeply curious to see what all the fuss was about.
While People We Meet on Vacation enjoyed its own press tour, although certainly smaller than what was previously outlined, it will never be able to recreate these kinds of phenomenons. People just aren’t inclined to discuss a singular Netflix release from their weekend, as much as they would their trip to the cinema, removing a distinct communal aspect of movies. One of the beauties of the cinema as well is actually the lack of choice. It sounds counterproductive, but the choice between 4 or 5 movies will always be so much simpler, and less stressful than everything a streaming service is able to offer. Entire nights are so often ruined by the paralysis of trying to pick what to watch, particularly as many try to wind down from the endless number of choices presented to them while at work. Many smaller productions also get to shine in this way, releasing during the quieter periods of the movie calendar to their respective audiences.
When sitting down to write a review on a Netflix film, I felt obligated to include all of this because it is hanging over the industry at the moment. Since it’s pioneering days of the streaming age, the company plays an enormous role in the cinematic landscape, and while I’m aware of how repetitive this talk is, but it truly cannot be emphasised enough.
As for People we Meet on Vacation, it’s a promising beginning to what is shaping up to be a comprehensive filmography for Emily Henry. Her 6 novels so far have all debuted to critical and popular success, and all are currently in discussion for screen adaptations, in various stages of production. Having said this, book wise People we Meet on Vacation is unfortunately stuck being the weakest in a great bunch. Staying true to its title, it is a great holiday page turner and does have some real depth to it, particularly in the characterisation of family relationships mostly with its male protagonist, Alex. Henry’s other novels manage this balancing act just a little better, expanding beyond just a romance novel into deeper themes, my personal favourite example of this being her debut Beach Read.
This gives the film a ceiling, it tries to emulate the mythical power of When Harry Met Sally, with both pairs meeting in this carpool from university to hometown meet cute, and arguably a gender swap in the personalities of Harry and Sally to Poppy and Alex respectively. It will never be able to reach this cultural status because it doesn’t have the fresh feeling that the former did, but I think Henry’s other adaptations could make a good pass at this, if played correctly. Where the film truly shines, is in its stars. Tom Blyth and Emily Bader possess both an undeniable chemistry, and an individual character that you can only find in a rom-com. Henry herself said it best, there is a notion that rom-coms kill careers and it is simply not true. While many A-listers immediately come to mind, most interestingly Blyth’s co-star in the upcoming Wasteman, David Jonnsson’s career is the inverse to Blyth’s own. After a short stint in the stage, he starred in romance Rye Lane before moving onto bigger projects Alien Romulus and The Long Walk. He and Blyth are both experiencing a range of roles in their career that many actors may never reach, so early on. Blyth and Bader could have quite easily settled for a cheesy performance here, but their recognition of the small complexities in Alex and Poppy, especially Poppy as a subversive female protagonist, is a delight.
I’m particularly interested in the difference between Henry’s upcoming films and TV shows in terms of pacing, a lot was unsurprisingly cut and altered here to cater to the 2 hour film constraints, as well as the conciseness of the story. The film takes after the books non-linear structure, alternating between flashbacks and the current day, making for a lot of extra work in keeping the stories separate, and understandable. Some of the alterations made here hurt the characters, such as a moment of real emotion and background from Alex in Tuscany being cut completely, to instead provide another will-they-won’t-they moment between the two. With the structure of a limited series like Netflix’s own One Day, it’s possible the characters could have enjoyed more depth and background, improving the overall balance of the adaptation.
People we Meet on Vacation does not reinvent the wheel on a summer romance film, maybe not even as one of the many produced by Netflix, but it does suggest the screenplay potential of Henry’s works are immense. It also comes with the promise of an infectious on-screen relationship, that almost feels like a mini vacation for your heart.