Netflix’s New Rom-Com Adapted From a Bestseller Lands a Fresh 88% on Rotten Tomatoes
Netflix’s latest rom-com, adapted from the New York Times and IndieBound bestseller People We Meet on Vacation, debuts with an 88% Rotten Tomatoes score, directed by Brett Haley and starring Tom Blyth and Emily Bader.
Netflix has a new rom-com out, People We Meet on Vacation, and the early response is a split-screen: big love on Rotten Tomatoes, side-eye on Metacritic. Let’s unpack that and who’s behind it.
The quick scorecard
As of right now, People We Meet on Vacation is sitting at an 88% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Over on Metacritic, it’s at a 53, which translates to mixed/average. So depending on which aggregator you swear by, it’s either a charmer or just okay.
The movie is based on the bestseller of the same name — it hit both the New York Times and IndieBound lists — and it comes from director Brett Haley. Tom Blyth and Emily Bader lead the thing.
What the critics are saying
The overall vibe from early reviews is warm and generally upbeat, with a few caveats about how far the magic goes.
Digital Spy’s Gabriella Geisinger isn’t promising a sob-fest, but says you’ll likely leave feeling lifted by the travel porn and pretty people, and the comfort of a love story that actually lands happy.
Mama’s Geeky’s Tessa Smith goes even harder in the pro column, calling it the full package for a rom-com — she singles out Tom Blyth and Emily Bader’s chemistry, plus props to the supporting players and the way the story is structured.
"What keeps things diverting, and sometimes even interesting, is the genuine but necessarily tentative chemistry between its stars, one staging an all-out charm offensive and the other projecting a flintier allure."
That’s Variety’s Guy Lodge, basically saying the movie lives and dies on the leads, and they keep it afloat. The Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han is a little cooler on it overall — not a film you’re moving into forever, but a pleasant place to hang out for a couple of lazy hours.
Who made it (and who’s in it)
- Director: Brett Haley
- Screenplay: Yulin Kuang, Amos Vernon, Nunzio Randazzo
- Producers: Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner
- Leads: Tom Blyth, Emily Bader
- Supporting cast: Sarah Catherine Hook, Lucien Laviscount, Lukas Gage, Miles Heizer, Jameela Jamil, and more
If you want a breezy postcard romance with attractive people making heart eyes in gorgeous locations, the Rotten Tomatoes crowd says go for it. If you need something sharper or more surprising, Metacritic’s caution light is probably speaking your language.