The APAHM Project Day 17: People We Meet on Vacation

Film: People We Meet On Vacation

Directed By: Brett Hayley

Release: 2026

Where to Watch: Netflix

Wanna Skip? Pick a Movie from APAHM Project 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020

Why It Made The List:

Readers rejoice!! Emily Henry's much anticipated movie adaptation for People We Meet On Vacation (PWMOV) arrived on Netflix earlier this year. Directed by Brett Hayley and written by Yulin Kuang, PWMOV marked a pivotal moment for the resurgence of the Rom Com genre. Kuang, an accomplished filmmaker, is set to direct the next Emily Henry adaptation Beach Read.

My Thoughts:

Full disclosure, I did not re-watch this film specifically for APAHM. It actually lives rent free in my head, so there was no need. I was so excited for this movie's release, and even more excited when I discovered it met the criteria for The APAHM Project thanks to Yulin Kuang. PWMOV was the first book to get me back into reading. I was curious about The Love Hypothesis, read it, liked it okay, and then discovered it was the second most popular book on Amazon for the genre at the moment. The first was PWMOV. I was drawn to the colorful cover and the Hallmark-esque plot and gave it a try and I was instantly an Emily Henry fan. Thanks to PWMOV, I have read 6-12 books a year since which is a huge accomplishment for a former book lover (reference not intended, but I need Simone Ashley to play Nora STAT), turned burned out AP and Honors Lit student.

PWMOV had a huge marketing campaign, and yet, never made it to the big screen. Signed as a Netflix-only release, PWMOV could only be viewed from the comfort of your couch. Emily Bader and Tom Blyth, along with Emily Henry, hosted many a pop-up, fan screening, surprise bookstore visits, and planned interview in anticipation for the film's winter release (strange, I know). And in today's essay, I will be discussing why the RomCom genre is due for the respect it deserves.

Remember the RomCom's from the 1980s to early 2000s? They were iconic. People are having Meg Ryan falls and naming their kids Madison after Splash. 13 Going on 30, Princess Diaries, Mamma Mia! are all themes for birthdays and bachelorettes alike. Great soundtracks, great wardrobes, great quotes ("What, like it's hard?"). AMAZING re-watchability. Everyone has their "go-to" comfort RomCom movie. Back then (I sound old), there was no option for movie releases except in the theaters or on TV. And you were at the will of the TV schedule for those DCOM movies. But once streaming became a thing, platforms needed original content to entice subscribers. Big budget action flicks wouldn't give you the return you wanted, so "silly" and "light" low-stake movies like RomComs were the move. Studios can make a convincing RomCom for less money and not worry about making their budget back. Then with streaming, cable platforms like Lifetime and Hallmark started to compete for viewership. Hallmark releases a new movie every week on their main channel. And because Hallmark is all about the feel-good, it has cheapened the RomCom genre due to its quantity over quality structure.

I do love a Hallmark movie every so often (don't get me started on the mah-jong one. Please.). But it does seem like the quality of these films' stories have declined. They follow the same basic pattern and call it a day. While I appreciate them creating 52 jobs a year for union workers (myself included), people have grown bored of the formula.

The fact of the matter is, Netflix didn't deem PWMOV as something worthy to put in a theater. Nor did they see Always Be My Maybe, To All The Boys, etc. etc. as worthy either. And by no means am I saying that every Netflix movie needs to be a theatrical release. But I do think that maybe if all the streaming platforms focused on quality over quantity, they would produce movies that people will pay money to go see in theaters.

What's interesting about PWMOV is that it is a known successful novel. BookTok and Book Girlies are having a moment. Reading is considered hot. This movie had a large enough budget to go to different cities. The wedding tablescapes alone had to have cost tens of thousands of dollars. So why take something that has more potential to be successful than not and put it on a platform for free? Is Netflix trying to boost subscriber numbers in a world where I'm pretty sure most people have Netflix. Or is PWMOV another case where RomComs are seen as low brow art.

RomComs are not meant to be some cinematic masterpiece. This isn't The Godfather. But I would argue that RomComs are the ones that stay with you well after you watch it. They have just as much impact as what Hollywood deems as "art." They are meant to give us an escape from the real world and our real problems. But more importantly, they are meant for us to believe in love. To believe in happy endings even if they don't look like princess dresses and glass slippers.

The last RomCom with a theatrical release I can think of off the top of my head is Anyone But You. And while I appreciate its attempt for a RomCom comeback, I think it seriously failed. But, maybe it got people to go to the movies. Maybe it got sales up high enough for studios to take another look at RomComs. Another popular author, Colleen Hoover, has had 3 of her novels adapted into theatrically released films, with a fourth on the way. It Ends With Us was heavily marketed as a chick flick, when it was not. It could be said that Hoover's stories are more drama filled and therefore more worthy of theatrical releases.

When did we decide that love, happiness, romance, and comedy had no value? In a world as dark as ours, when did we put these ideas so low on our priority totem pole? The world needs RomComs. The world needs the collective viewing experience of something that brings them joy and comfort. Additionally, I am a firm believer that women fuel the economy. Going to see a RomCom, buying a new pink shirt to see Barbie, buying the exact red dress Poppy wears in Spain, buying books. Women are the stereotyped target audience for RomComs. However, because of this stereotype, the studios think they are missing out on the male box office sales. I know plenty of men who love a good RomCom. Because all those things I listed: love, happiness, comfort, romance, believing in something? Those are all universal no matter your gender, race, socioeconomic background, or religion.

In Conclusion:

Kevin Kwan, the author of Crazy Rich Asians was offered a guaranteed 3-picture deal with Netflix. He declined and took a lower paying offer with Warner Brothers because he and Jon M. Chu believed that this movie needed to be seen on the largest screen with the widest audience. Times right now are tough. Money is tight. But believing in a project and supporting it monetarily in a theater makes such a big impact on future films. It is a wonder that more RomComs didn't go to theaters after CRA's success. I hope that after the success and commentary of PWMOV (I am not the only one who wished for this to be in theaters), the next film Beach Read will be considered for a wide release.

PWMOV was met with overall great reviews. Some stickler readers were upset by some adaptation changes, but having read the book twice, I really loved it. It made me smile and squeal with excitement. I was wondering where I can buy Poppy's outfits. I adored Poppy and Alex's relationship. I'm sure many of us can relate to having a crush on a friend. But I felt seen. Poppy gives the classic RomCom end speech that is usually reserved for the men, a conscious choice made by Kuang. And I felt every. word. There are times where I feel like I feel too much. I am too much. And from that, I will scare people away. I liked them more. I was invested more than they were. I fought for us more. But maybe one day I'll find the Alex to my Poppy. And that is the power of RomComs.

Shout Out!

Today's shout out goes to a different author, Axie Oh! Axie Oh is the writer of XOXO and ASAP, YA Romance novels, as well as The Floating World duology, a YA romance-fantasy and The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea. I currently own 3 of Oh's books, and have read 1. The Floating World gained a lot of attention due to K-Pop Demon Hunters! If you enjoy world-building, Asian culture intertwined into fantasy, and non-spicy romance, I highly recommend this book! If you're lucky, you can catch Oh at various cons for book signings!

If You Liked This, You Might Also Like:

Always Be My Maybe

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Set It Up

Plus One

Love Hard

(I like RomComs, okay?)