Emily Henry is a NYT bestselling author, widely known for her #1 sellers Book Lovers, Happy Place, Funny Story, and People We Meet on Vacation. Henry has had immense success under the Romantic Comedy genre, accumulating not only a devoted fanbase, but a domino effect of movie deals. Yet, despite Henry’s cult-like following and repeated success in such a competitive industry and genre, many fans have felt disconnected with her debut film adaptation, People We Meet on Vacation.
People We Meet on Vacation is Henry’s second Adult Romance novel, following polar-opposite best friends, Poppy Wright and Alex Nilson, in their annual summer excursions and unlikely romance. The movie adaptation debuted on Netflix January 9, 2026, receiving particularly mixed reviews from fans and viewers, averaging a 3.2/5 on Letterboxd and 74% on Rotten Tomatoes. And while PWMOV has never been a top Henry pick for me (I’m a die-hard Book Lovers girl), I believe that these ratings have much less to do with Henry’s writing and more with poor pacing.
In the beginning, we start out strong—Poppy and Alex’s introduction, a peek into their current-day lives and the realization that they’ve tragically grown apart. We even get to see satisfying glimpses into their first few trips together, which honestly, I can’t imagine being brought to life any better. The real problem doesn’t begin until right around the halfway mark.
At this point in the movie, I swear the pacing felt comparable to one of those multi-part TikTok series where certain clips are left out for the sake of time or rage bait. Integral scenes were cut and brushed past, leaving fans as well as myself with mixed emotions as they witnessed Henry’s beloved characters brought to life, but favorite scenes left in the dust.
The scenes from the book that were included captured Henry’s essence to near perfection. However, the scenes that were cut left such a gap in the film that some fans were left feeling dissatisfied. With an approximate word-count of 104,000 and a paperback page count of 364, PWMOV is already on the lengthier side of Rom-Coms. That being said, many fans—including myself—felt a TV adaptation would have been better suited, allowing the book to have panned out at proper pacing.
Maybe if I hadn’t read the book prior, I would have felt less dissatisfied. But I couldn’t help but find the lack of proper introduction to either of Poppy’s love interests, or the cutting and splicing of some of the book’s most integral scenes distracting. For me, the shortening of the Norway scene alone made Poppy and Alex’s yearning all the less believable. Don’t get me wrong, the chemistry between Tom Blythe and Emily Bader was amazing, and I think I speak for most viewers when I say I need to see them starring in more Rom-Coms. But for this exact reason, I feel that their potential was somewhat wasted. I would’ve loved to see more of a gradual buildup-up of their relationship over the first few trips, maybe even done episodically. But instead, trips were combined into confusing blurs, leaving fans of its original pacing disappointed.
Despite the handful of let-downs, there were without a doubt redeeming qualities that helped to reignite the magic of Henry’s writing. The New Orleans bar scene was easily one of my favorite new additions, adding a necessary whimsy and charm to the film. The rewrite of Poppy’s love-confession was another pleasant surprise, emphasizing the sacrifices willing to be made after such avoidance and uncertainty. Watching Poppy sprint after Alex despite her hatred for running brought their connection full circle, serving as a satisfying resolution, especially for one of Poppy and Alex’s final scenes.
At the end of the day, I believe that the actual content of the film was equally as charming and whimsical as the writing we’re used to from Henry. The problems that most fans are finding lie within the actual pacing and altered structure of the story. The major takeaway? Sometimes, less is more. But never when you’re adapting an Emily Henry novel.
Luckily for Henry, she has four more movie adaptations already in the works, with the potential to reach Jenny Han-level success with her author-producer debuts. In a recent interview with Cinema Blend, Henry expresses, “I think that this movie has been hugely helpful in getting things rolling for a lot of the other adaptations.” By utilizing criticism from PWMOV, Henry has all the tools she needs to exceed fan’s expectations, producing re-imaginings of characters and storylines that authentically bring her work to life.