New Hit Netflix Movie Slammed by Fans of the Original Book: “Seriously Terrible”

January 11, 2026, 4:35pm

In a perfect example of being unable to please everyone, Netflix’s newest addition to the book adaptation and romcom universe is being blasted by book fans for being nothing like the source material. And while the movie is currently holding on to an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, and has blown past every other movie in the top 10 for the #1 spot on the platform, it seems many people are unhappy with the final product.

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People We Meet on Vacation has been hotly anticipated since it was announced that the book would be turned into a movie. But the discontent began as soon as the casting was announced, with fans already sensing major differences between the book and the film, and only spiralled from there. The story centers around Poppy (Emily Bader) and her routine-loving best friend, Alex (Tom Blyth). The duo live in different cities but spend every summer vacation together. Their friendship is tested when they themselves start wondering what everyone else has been telling them—is there potential for more between them?

Where Did The Film Go Wrong?

One viewer had no problem laying out their grievances on Reddit, saying, “It was seriously terrible. I thought the book was decent, but even while reading it, I questioned how they were going to make a movie out of it. I thought the characters lacked chemistry in the book, but at least with the inner monologue, there was some level of character development. Absolutely no chemistry or development in the movie, and they changed so many details for no reason at all, which really irked me. Super disappointed overall.” Others jumped in to agree, with one adding, “Anything that made the book worth being turned into a movie was lost when they started combining trips/changing locations. In the book, I definitely could see times when Alex was into Poppy, and of course, we knew where Poppy stood the whole time- I didn’t feel that in the movie at all. I did not feel the will-they-won’t-they vibe.”

Critics disagree, though, with one, Tania Lamb of Lola Lambchops, saying, “People We Meet on Vacation is one of the rare occasions in which the movie is better than the book.” Alistair Ryder of Looper gave it 6 out of 10 stars and said, “A shameless copy of When Harry Met Sally can’t help but carry over some of the charm of its inescapable influence, even if it does attempt to be trendy and oddly aspirational in a way that will initially seem alien to anybody who has seen that movie.”

The general consensus by critics seems to be that the plot, seemingly borrowed from one of the best romcoms of all time, is mostly carried forward by the intense chemistry between lead actors, Tom Blythe and Emily Bader.

What are your thoughts about the changes in People We Meet on Vacation? Let us know in the comments, and then head over to the ComicBook forums to see what other fans are saying.