Get ready, contemporary romance fans! Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation is coming to Netflix on January 9! The film will adapt the best-selling novel of the same name, which follows the friends-to-lovers romance between Alex (Tom Blyth) and Poppy (Emily Bader). Of course, adaptations can be tricky things, and not every moment in the book can make it into the movie. The first-look pictures hinted that at least one memorable scene will be there (Alex’s brother’s wedding!). But what about the rest? We have 5 scenes from People We Meet on Vacation that we need to see translated from page to screen. Let’s talk about them!
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Alex and Poppy Meet
This event necessarily has to be in the film. The question is, how close to the book will it be? When Alex and Poppy meet in the book, the moment establishes their characters perfectly. Poppy initiates the conversation on their first day of college with a joke and a bit of profanity, proving that she is the boisterous one of the two. Alex, by contrast, is reserved. He just quietly answers her questions. Their wardrobes also hint at their differing personalities. He’s already wearing a t-shirt for their new school, while her clothes are as conspicuous as she is. Reading this scene, you get a sense of why their friendship becomes so strong. But you also get the barest hint of the attraction that will develop many years later because Alex perks up when they discover they are from neighboring towns. I hope the film version will achieve the same balance. A lot depends on the chemistry between Bader and Blyth, and the stills we’ve gotten so far give me hope that it is strong.
Alex Meets Poppy’s Parents
If you’re looking for the comedy part of this romantic comedy, then look no further than this scene. Alex and Poppy road-trip home together after their first year of college. Their friendship is growing, so they make plans to go to karaoke, and when Alex picks Poppy up, he meets her mom and dad. Let’s just say Poppy comes by her loud exuberance honestly. Also, frisky dogs are involved. Yeah, THAT kind of frisky! There’s another reason this scene stands out. Poppy’s parents immediately assume that she and Alex are going out. As in, they are dating. They are not, and Alex and Poppy are vocal about that here. However, when people close to the main couple recognize that romance could be possible before they do, it adds a really fun layer of irony to the story. Besides that, other friends have judged Poppy’s parents negatively before, and she doesn’t want that to happen with Alex. That makes this important to the development of their relationship. With performers like Molly Shannon and Alan Ruck playing Poppy’s parents, this brief scene will at least be humorous and warm in the film.
Alex Takes Care of Poppy When She’s Sick
After college, Alex and Poppy live in different states, but they keep their friendship strong by traveling together every summer. Things don’t always go smoothly. One year, as they’re about to fly to Norway, Poppy gets sick with pneumonia. She encourages Alex to go ahead alone. Of course, that’s not going to happen. He does what any respectable rom-com hero would do: comes to her apartment to take care of her. Alex takes her to the doctor, gets the things she needs, and makes sure she takes her medicine. He is there for her without hesitation. I love this trope! It is a classic one in romantic comedies. And this scene does an excellent job of conveying the emotional and physical connection between Poppy and Alex. When he is holding her as she’s about to go to sleep, the tension increases until you will want to fan yourself! The intimacy of this moment is significant. If the movie version of this is half as intense, then we are in for a feast.
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The Love Scene
Contemporary romances like People We Meet on Vacation usually feature a spicy scene or two. Alex and Poppy share a memorable and effective one. They travel together to Palm Springs for Alex’s brother’s wedding, and problems plague the whole trip. Their feelings escalate when the air conditioning breaks in the apartment they’re renting. Henry created a strong atmosphere for the sequence. The heat, the rain– the setting truly plays a part in the impact of the scene. It also helps to convey the sense that this is the culmination of years of feelings between them. That’s what friends-to-lovers is about, isn’t it? Seeing all that brought to life visually is an exciting prospect. Especially if the filmmakers achieve a tone that is more romantic than explicit. Again, Blyth and Bader’s chemistry is important here, so I’m crossing my fingers for a sizzling combination.
The Happy Ending
The thing I remember most about the resolution of Alex and Poppy’s story is the raw emotion of it. They don’t speak for a short period of time, and Poppy is the one to go to Alex, admit her feelings, and tell him she wants to be with him. There is a brief moment when you wonder if Alex’s fears about how different they are might keep them from getting together. You know logically that this is a rom-com, so they will get together, but the fact that you even question it for a split second is remarkable. The way Henry lets the characters express their feelings in this moment is realistic and relatable. They ARE very different, so it makes sense for them to confront that and it is understandable for that to be hard. I love that the character development is so integral to this scene. Particularly Poppy’s. This is where Bader and Blyth will earn their paychecks, perhaps more so than with any other scene. At least in terms of satisfying payoff. I’m ready for it!
Are you looking forward to these scenes too? Or do you have other ones in mind? We’ll all see what the finished product looks like when People We Meet on Vacation premieres on Netflix on January 9, 2026.
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People We Meet on Vacation will stream on Netflix on January 9, 2026.
