Emily Henry, renowned for her other popular novels like “Funny Story,” “Beach Read,” “Book Lovers,” “Happy Place,” and the upcoming “Great Big Beautiful Life,” is a powerhouse in the romance genre. It was only a matter of time before one of her stories made its way to the screen. In this adaptation, Tom Blyth stars as the meticulous Alex Nilsen, while Emily Bader plays his adventurous best friend, Poppy Wright. The pair have a steadfast tradition of taking a vacation together each year, embracing the freedom and spontaneity these trips offer. As their travels continue, an undeniable romantic tension builds, prompting them to question if they are truly meant for one another.

Alistair Ryder from Looper reviewed the film, comparing it to Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron’s iconic “When Harry Met Sally.” He noted that this new film mirrors the classic friends-to-lovers narrative, even beginning with the protagonists on a road trip home from college. Despite Ryder’s lukewarm reception, the movie still promises a bubbly and entertaining rom-com experience, thanks to its strong lead performances. But what exactly is the story about?

The journey begins with Poppy and Alex sharing a ride back to their hometown in Ohio, only to be stranded overnight at a rundown motel due to car trouble. Despite their contrasting personalities—Poppy being spontaneous and chaotic, while Alex is orderly—they become inseparable friends. Fast forward to years later, Poppy is a travel writer living a nomadic lifestyle, when she receives an invite to Alex’s brother David’s wedding in Barcelona. Her boss, Swapna Bakshi-Highsmith, played by Jameela Jamil, encourages this assignment, providing Poppy the perfect excuse to reconnect with Alex.

After that first fateful drive that Poppy and Alex take back to their shared hometown in Ohio, they end up having to spend the night at a dinky motel because of car troubles … and despite their enormous differences, they become best friends (Poppy is erratic and messy, whereas Alex likes rules and order). Years after their first meeting, Poppy is invited to the destination wedding of Alex’s younger brother David (“Boots” star Miles Heizer) in Barcelona, and because Poppy is a travel writer who keeps a sparse apartment and prefers to jet-set around the world instead of dealing with her problems, she manages to get her boss Swapna Bakshi-Highsmith (“The Good Place” veteran Jameela Jamil) on board and heads to Barcelona on assignment, hoping she might reunite with Alex. 

Then, we learn about the massive fracture in Alex and Poppy’s friendship courtesy of their budding attraction and human roadblocks in the form of Alex’s long-term on-again, off-again girlfriend Sarah (“The White Lotus” Season 3 standout Sarah Catherine Hook) and Poppy’s short-term flings, like her flighty jet-setter boyfriend Trey (“Emily in Paris” supporting player Lucien Laviscount). This is a romantic comedy, though, so the two figure out a way to put aside their differences for a big romantic kiss in the rain and declarations of love that had obviously been simmering for years … but at the risk of spoiling the entire movie, we’ll keep some of the bigger plot details under wraps. So where have you seen this movie’s two stars before?

If Tom Blyth looks familiar to you, we’re willing to bet it’s because you saw him star as a young Coriolanus Snow — the future president of the dystopian nation called Panem that serves as the setting for “The Hunger Games” — in that trilogy’s 2023 prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” (Just to refresh your memory, the late, great Donald Sutherland played the oldest form of Snow to date in the original trilogy.) In this prequel, set during the 10th-ever Games, Blyth’s Coriolanus, whose family’s fortunes are fading fast, is determined to be the best Capitol mentor to his tribute and win the Games outright to restore glory to the Snow name; unfortunately, he’s given District 12, a deeply impoverished district of Panem that hasn’t ever produced a winner. When he meets his female tribute, singer and performer Lucy Gray Baird (“West Side Story” and “Snow White” star Rachel Zegler), he realizes her flair for performing can potentially help them in the games, and the two strike up an unexpected connection.

As for Emily Bader, aside from “People We Met on Vacation,” she starred as the titular Lady Jane Grey in the Amazon Prime original series “My Lady Jane,” about the real British royal who reigned as queen of England for an infamous nine days. Unfortunately for Bader and audiences around the world, Amazon cancelled the fun, deliberately anachronistic “My Lady Jane” after its single debuted in 2024, but at least that did free Bader up to appear in this fun romantic comedy. “People We Meet on Vacation” is streaming on Netflix now.