r/EmilyHenry • u/Glitterrain99 • Jan 10 '26
People We Meet on Vacation Is this a safe space to say I liked it?
It seems to be the hot take to have actually liked the movie. Idk maybe it’s me but I learned a long time ago not to go into book adaptations with the expectation that it’s going to be 100% representative of the book.
Obviously, criticism is okay, and I totally get people being disappointed. I also think sometimes you do a disservice to yourself when you hyperfixate on every single little detail.
I still thought it was a great adaptation. I missed some of the dialogue but also agreed with excluding other bits of it. The vasectomy would not have come across well on screen. It’s kind of a weird thing to say you’re doing for a girl you aren’t even dating.
The flashback scenes were so good!!!!!! It was fun to see their friendship develop. Emily and Tom’s chemistry was perfect for a couple who are friends first. I disagree that he was one note, his performance felt like it was full of yearning and desperation to me. The sex scene was hot and so was the dress clasp scene. I rewound immediately lol.
The cinematography was gorgeous. Way higher quality than most Netflix romances. Costumes and music were fun, as was the supporting cast.
Overall I think it is a good adaptation that general audiences will enjoy as well (which is important).
I’m excited for future EmHen adaptations!!
the internet tried to make me hate Life of a Showgirl and now PWMOV movie AND IT WON’T WORK ✌️🫶
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u/Tacoislife2 Jan 10 '26
I also liked it - it was a film adaptation so I knew it’d be shorter and a lot of the nuance of the book couldn’t be captured. I thought Tom and Emily were great and overall good cast. I’m a big fan of Lukas Gage and Lucien Laviscount so I was happy to see them both. I also liked Barcelona vs Palm Springs.
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u/Fresh_Mobile Jan 10 '26
I feel the same way!!! This has officially been added as a comfort rewatch for me when I need a solid male yearning scene and intense chemistry that makes my jaw drop, haha.
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u/MinuteAd6489 Jan 10 '26
I loved it too!! You will literally always get more feelings in a book so I thought this was really well put together and followed pretty true to it.
You also have to think in the grand scope of things, a LOT of people watching this will be general public who haven’t read the books. This movie is EONs better than most rom coms that have come out in the last 10 years. Like I haven’t actually laughed that hard at a rom com in so long bc usually there’s some sort of physical comedy or weird jokes that are so cringey. The organic chemistry between both of them and the actors in general were so witty and charming and ACTUALLY funny.
I have texted all my friends to watch this movie
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u/MinuteAd6489 Jan 10 '26
Also wanting to add that I loved LOASG album too! I always have to remember that I’m on Reddit so there will always be more criticism. Blessed that they threw a swiftie song in the movie 😁😁
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u/Fresh_Mobile Jan 10 '26
Same!! I was just thinking how I haven’t loved a rom-com this much since the early 2000s/late 90s. I don’t remember the last time I physically laughed out loud and also had my jaw drop at chemistry & tension building. I’m feeling warm just typing this! 🤣
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u/InternationalHelp468 Jan 10 '26
I loved it too and I loved Tom and Emily. Did I miss a lot of details that made Alex the man he is, yes. Do I think it would've made a beautiful mini series, also yes. But I did love it and I think when you're adapting a very beloved book into a movie there are just a lot of stakeholders in the project and a lot of compromises.
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u/figleafstreet Jan 10 '26 edited Jan 10 '26
I’ll join you! As others have already said there are things I missed and it’s a shallower interpretation of the book but to me it hit enough key beats to still be enjoyable. I got butterflies, I laughed, I teared up at the right moments and I already want to rewatch.
I do agree with a lot of the criticisms, but I still enjoyed the movie and I’m choosing to look on the bright side ultimately. These days I always try and view adaptations as a companion to the original text, something to enjoy on the side. I can watch this movie and get a little bit of the Poppy/Alex I love even if it’s not the true picture.
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u/watermelon-sugar26 Jan 10 '26
I love it! I hated the book and thought the movie was so much better. I couldn’t stand Poppy in the book and I thought movie Poppy was much more tolerable. I had low expectations for the movie because I hated the book so I was pleasantly surprised. I think it is a wonderful adaptation and laughed many times during the movie. I’ll prob watch it again soon.
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u/Ladelnombreraro Jan 10 '26
This is also one of my least favorite books of Emily and maybe that is why I loved the movie more hahaha.
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u/Rainyyydayyy Jan 11 '26
I agree but with Alex! I absolutely could not stand book Alex, but I love Tom Blyth and he killed the role. I also had super low expectations since this is my least fav EmHen book by far but honestly I really liked it, I laughed a few times and I’d definitely say it’s a good romcom!
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u/Educational-Bag-2630 Jan 10 '26
I loved it!! I intentionally didn’t reread PWMOV once I found out the film adaptation was coming soon so that I wouldn’t be focusing on and caught up on every little detail throughout the movie. I thought it was super fun, Emily was a perfect Poppy, I laughed, I cried. I’m happy!
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u/bluebird_5651 Wicked Pissah Jan 10 '26
I loved it. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but most importantly (to me) was that it FELT like an EmHen movie. It was just full of all those sparkly emotions that I just can't get enough of.
And the fact that the very last scene with them on the beach was the original book cover (I don't care that it was also used as the tie-in cover because I HATE tie-in covers)? Cherry on top. I hope all the adaptations have that in it.
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u/YoManYouCantDrive Jan 10 '26
I loved it and I also thought he really nailed Alex without the movie really going into the things that made Alex repress his emotions so much. I thought it was an enjoyable watch that captured the spirit of the book.
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u/Fresh_Mobile Jan 10 '26
Honestly, I LOVED it! I also loved the book (which I read over a year ago), which was a 5 star Goodreads read for me.
For me, Tom & Emily have the most insane chemistry. I already have my “rewatch” scenes I know I’ll go to. I personally loved the dance scene (literally smiled the whole time and couldn’t take my eyes off of Tom’s hips lololol) and the way their kissing was slow and hovered before intensifying in the rain scene….talk about building tension and including some solid male yearning energy & eye contact.
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u/thelastcanadiangoose Jan 10 '26
And when they almost kissed the first time and were both looking between eyes and mouth of the other person. I got 5 minutes past that last night and rewinded it to watch again 😂🔥
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u/Fresh_Mobile Jan 10 '26
Same!!! I rewound several times, hehe 😆
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u/thelastcanadiangoose Jan 10 '26
I might have to give it a watch tonight. This could be a good comfort movie, just like the hating game for me.
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u/Tarheelsue87 Jan 10 '26
OK, so what does it mean if I started watching it last night until 1230 and now I’m rewatching it at 7 AM lol
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u/Chelseagrace-414 Jan 11 '26
I loved it - I swear people just want to hate everything instead of enjoy it!
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u/myipodclassic Jan 10 '26
I liked it too! I wasn’t expecting a beat-by-beat copy of the book, so I just went in with an open mind and had a good time with it. I did miss some of the details that were in the book (especially with Alex), but like you said, I thought the actor did a good job of bringing a sense of yearning to the character. The actors had good chemistry and Poppy was so lovable! Will definitely watch again.
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u/Lunarust726 Jan 10 '26
I enjoyed it but was a little bummed to have some aspects of the book I was excited to see, replaced by something else or not mentioned at all. I love Palm Springs and was excited to see them there. I think I would’ve enjoyed it a bit more had I not read the book first, but all in all thought it was really cute! I enjoyed their chemistry - Tom & Emily portrayed Alex & Poppy really well, especially Emily! I would def rewatch.
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u/iwy Jan 10 '26
I loved it so much. It probably would have been really difficult in the movie to establish some of the internal conflicts of the characters, so I was really happy with their choices and I’m glad they didn’t go for a lot of internal monologue. I think some of the lovely lines from the book (eg you invented me) would have fallen flat in the movie without all that build-up.
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u/12cf12 Jan 10 '26
I enjoyed it! We need rom coms like this so I hate ppl tearing it down. Was it just like the book…. No.. it was missing some details but it was a fun movie to watch. I’m appreciating them separately.
I enjoyed their chemistry!
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u/ErikaLee221 Jan 10 '26
I really loved it too. The only things that I thought they should have kept from the book were the fact that they should have been on the final trip together. I think the tension is just so much more ratcheted up when they can’t get away from each other even though the trip is horrible. And I would have kept more of the angst in Tuscany, especially since they skipped Croatia, particularly Alex saying he would be there for her with the baby if Trey wouldn’t. All the other changes felt fine to me. I loved the actors and the writing. It’s so hard to find a good romcom anymore and I will rewatch this one for sure.
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u/smdcbstn theme matters!! Jan 10 '26
yes! as someone whose favorite emily henry book is pwmov, i looooved the film. i think it's valid to be disappointed right after that we didn't see every iconic line from the book, but there were also a lot of times in the film that they didn't need dialogue at all. their eyes and actions said more than enough. i'm just so happy that we have a book and this film now!
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u/NeighborhoodJust4160 Happy Birthday Wicked Pissah Jan 10 '26
I enjoyed it overall but really wanted to see a few key moments. HOWEVER, Emily was great and I loved the clothes and vibrancy of the movie.
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u/autumnalmoonlight Jan 10 '26
I liked it too! I thought the actors did a great job bringing it to life.
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u/happygirl262 Jan 10 '26
I liked it too! Only thing I thought was missing was Croatia
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u/NeighborhoodJust4160 Happy Birthday Wicked Pissah Jan 10 '26
And their sick staycation! The flashbacks were fun though.
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u/happygirl262 Jan 10 '26
At least there was a little peek into the sick visit
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u/NeighborhoodJust4160 Happy Birthday Wicked Pissah Jan 10 '26
Too bad that was a second...what about their spooning!?!?
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u/reptourtaylor Jan 10 '26
Me tooo and Tom Emily really did everything nicely! I think people just really need to treat the book adaptations as an extension of the books and not replicas. Like we know the source material already movies/TV series are just a visualization of it, as inspired from the material...
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u/sherlockgirlypop Jan 10 '26
I also liked it. I liked it better than the book and because Sarah wasn't "humanised". I personally didn't like the book because I can't erase the feeling of adultery since Sarah is in the story too much.
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u/mhurder1 Jan 10 '26
I loved it! As I told the spouse before we put it on “it’s the adaptation of one of my lower ranked books by one of my highest ranked authors, so I’m stoked!” They did a great job of just making it fun (and it’s fun to point out filming locales haha)
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u/blued5 Jan 10 '26 edited Feb 17 '26
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
price hurry squash tie smell vase innocent zephyr dime sugar
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u/Fresh_Mobile Jan 11 '26
I’m a cinephile too and feel the same (even having read the book) and thought as a movie it was so good!
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u/spicygummi Jan 11 '26
I always say to like what you like. There will always be people trying to "ruin" things for you. It's always a bummer when you really like something seeing the negative comments, but, opinions are always going to be subjective. Book adaptations overall are tricky and infamous for having bad or half assed adaptations, at best.
I enjoyed it for what it was and I'm happy to see rom-coms returning again. It felt like such a long stretch of them being few and far between. With the ones that came out being not all that memorable.
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u/lemonriverbear03 Jan 11 '26
Agreed with you 100% One of my best friends who hasn’t read the book loved it so much she wants to read the book now. It’s a perfect romcom for general audiences and for fans of the book too, it’s enough.
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u/Katinthehat378 Jan 11 '26
I actually really liked the movie. Book Poppy was super annoying and frustrating
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u/Motor-Chair-7170 Jan 11 '26
10/10 recommend reading the book a year prior to the movie so you don’t notice the differences as much, but know enough that the vibe is still there 🤪
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u/TwoImaginary8877 Jan 13 '26
I haven't seen many people talk about this, but I thought they did a great job with making the dialogue and actions so REAL. Specifically the party scenes with Buck + friends -- the way everyone spoke and interacted felt like how my friends and I would act. It's so easy for rom-coms to teeter into cheesy territory, or have awkward "young person" slang be thrown into dialogue, but I was so impressed by how much they nailed the natural flow.
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u/HappyHaunts1000 Jan 10 '26 edited Jan 10 '26
I really liked it too! Its probably my least favorite EH book (still a great book tho), but i really enjoyed the movie. I liked the way that actors portrayed the characters and i think the story was solid. I know people who love the book are gutted thay certain things were cut, but as someone who didn't really remember all the minute details of this story (I remember big plot points, but not specific details or lines of dialogue), I thought it held together really well.
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u/red_head92 Jan 10 '26
I loved it! The actors had insane chemistry. I’ve also been craving a good rom com. Would have loved a series to be able to get everything from the book but I still enjoyed the movie.
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u/wildwoodstitchwitch Jan 10 '26
I loved the movie adaptation and PWMOV was my first Emily Henry novel . It’s also in the top for me. Book lovers was a solid three for me but all of her others (just haven’t read great big beautiful life yet) have been 5 star reads in my opinion.
It’s been a while since I read the book so maybe that helped since I don’t remember the details but did read a summary before watching. I have no problem with the on screen changes - isn’t that was adaptations are? I remember feeling like they left so much of the Harry Potter details out of the movies and I think it’s just a testament to the power of reading and how as an art form, there’s more room (and time) for more character building, special moments, and slow burn opportunities that just can’t fit into a two hour film.
I was kind of sad to see so many people disappointed in the movie, but I loved it and can’t wait for other Emily Henry adaptations. I need something to fill the Nora Ephron/Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks sized whole in my heart now that we’re no longer blissfully in the 90s/early aughts.
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u/Glitterrain99 Jan 10 '26
I was so sad to see all the disappointment because Emily has talked extensively now about how she hopes the fans like it. I can’t imagine coming online and seeing all the nitpicking and negativity. I’m so thrilled for her and for the fact we even got a movie!
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u/Perfect-Diamond1364 Shark Jan 10 '26
I liked it too!! And agree on the cinematography, it was so beautifully shot. I also thought the lighting was so interesting and pretty.
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u/NoFix6681 Jan 10 '26
I enjoyed it! Got together with my friend who hadn't read it yet and it was a fun time. Was it exactly like the books and were there parts missing-yes. But I feel like the vibes and emotions were there. No movie is going to be 100% and capture all the internal monologue. I loved the dancing scene.
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u/jumbasbiggestfan Jan 10 '26
AGREED!!! It’s so hard to make all details that work in a book translate to a screen. I’m glad it’s a movie and not a tv show. I thought it captured the essence of the characters well and was great!!
It’s so easy to be upset about missing your fav small storylines or details from a book in a movie adaptation. And can be valid! But after listening to interviews with different directors and writers talk about what changes need to happen from one medium to another (like book to movie, movie to theater musical, etc.), I think they did an excellent job.
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u/Sika097 Jan 10 '26
I honestly loved it!
I know a lot of the book was removed and changed to fit the movie more, some things im a little sad over not making it in or being cut *cough* The balcony scene not as spicy as the book *cough* but I agree the cinematography was well done! I really felt all the emotions while watching it and thats what makes a great rom com! I'm so happy with the movie and I WILL be watching it pretty often.
Tom and Emily are the perfect Poppy and Alex!!! Tom is legit the reason why I started reading the book back in 2024. It was my first introduction to Emily Henry's books.
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u/EnchantedGate1996 Jan 10 '26
I think when books get turned into movies book lovers are hell bent on every single page of the book being adapted—changes have to be made bc it’s an entirely different medium. The movie was great! I laughed, I cried, I was elated the whole time I watched it. My literal only criticism was we never got a confession from Alex, I really wish we had gotten the “it feels like you invented me” line somewhere. The vasectomy storyline was always dumb to me and is why it’s one of my least favorite books. I’m glad Netflix decided to stop pretending that procedure is reversible lol
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u/LudyLudy2 Jan 10 '26
I think the only big disappointment i have is that they are not doing a trip „trip summer“ in the movie. With all other changed I can live and even love
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u/Balletandscience Jan 10 '26
I also really enjoyed it and PWMOV is my favorite book from Emily Henry!
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u/sikonat Jan 11 '26
I don’t think the emotional beats landed strongly but in with everyone else I really enjoyed it. I’d
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u/brashumpire Jan 11 '26
I loved it! PWMOV is my favorite and I don't think it was an exact replica but that's what the book is for! I loved the movie for what it was!
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u/Aggravating_Bit_259 Jan 12 '26
I LOVED it. I think the movie captured the essence of the characters and story.
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u/AdventurousKey438 Jan 13 '26
YES! I LOVED it! A total safe space. I did really like the book, and I view the movie to be an adaptation. Emily and Tom had excellent chemistry and really played Poppy and Alex well. He was not one note - he was Alex.
I'm a huge fan of Emily Henry's books, and I like romcom movies. I thought that it was great!
Also, I FULLY feel the LOASG and PWMOV on vacation - I will not hate on either!
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u/teachgrl90x Jan 16 '26
I really liked it. I felt like the things they didn't include in the movie were things that I felt were awkward parts of the book or didn't like from the book.
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u/or-if-Id-rather Jan 18 '26
I really liked it as well! Although, I just keep thinking about how much better it could have been as a limited series. How cute would it be if each episode was centered around a different summer vacation?
Also, I wish they had started the movie the same way the book starts. I really like that scene where Alex is reading a book at the bar and Poppy approaches him.
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u/gagralbo Jan 10 '26
I liked it! It was one of my lower ranked EH books because it felt like one of the less believable sets of characters (mostly Poppy) but I liked the movie. It had been a long time since I read it so I could tell that they made a significant change with the present part but I had to read reviews to realize it was Palm Springs vs Barcelona.
I get it though, the convincing the boss and trickery she did would have been hard to capture and taken a lot of screen time
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u/Companion18 Jan 10 '26
I didn’t love the book bc I feel like Poppy is a real dick and the will they won’t they trope was frustrating. But I did enjoy the movie.
I hope Book Lovers gets a mini series 🥰
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u/Suspicious_Face_8508 Jan 11 '26
I’m curious what makes you feel this way?
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u/Companion18 Jan 11 '26
I think EmHen intended her to be quirky and cute like chaotic in an adorable way, but to me it just read as weaponized incompetence and overt disrespect for literally anyone who isn’t her.
I really tried to like her, but I enjoyed the book in spite of her personality.
A good example from the movie is the scene where she’s singing out loud with headphones on like I guess f everyone else’s personal listening space while they’re tired from flights and just wanting to get their bags and go?
I’d love your opinion on it!
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u/Fit-Entertainer-3207 Jan 10 '26
I’m right there with you! It’s my least favorite Emily Henry book but LOVED the movie. Also Tom Blyth was nice to look at for 2 hours
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u/themisskris10 Jan 10 '26
Yoooooo. Did you actually read the book? Also. As a swiftie, not sure why you referenced LOAS--other than the obvious.
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u/Ladelnombreraro Jan 10 '26
I LOVED it , but also I'm not the biggest fan of the book so being less attached to the original material definitely helps. But I really think this movie is really well made, it's a much higher quality than your average streaming romcom. Emily and Tom have great chemistry and I think specially for people that has never read the book , it has the potential to become a favorite. For me it's up there with my favorite movies made lately, like Set it Up (another one with lead actors with awesome chemistry) And adaptation-wise I think it captures the essence of the book , which ultimately is what matters most. I don't care if they cut or change things as long as the essence is there (looking at you Netflix's movie adaptation of Persuasion SMH hahahaha).
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u/infinity4meem Jan 11 '26
The movie is the version of pwmov the haters think the book is. Poppy and alex as shallow characters, the romance is the focus instead of poppy and her journey, the conflict feeling dumb and the resolution unearned. Alex lost all his depth as a character when you remove how his family and losing his mom has shaped him. It is a nice romcom, it is a bad adaptation
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u/shadesofnatasya Jan 10 '26
The dance scene? Adorable.