People We Meet at the Movies: 10 Differences in People We Meet on Vacation from Page to Screen

I read People We Meet on Vacation for the first time two years ago. It’s the first Emily Henry book I read, and I was immediately hooked. People We Meet on Vacation is actually the book that sparked my love for reading rom-coms; before I was strictly a fantasy and dystopian reader. I was so excited when I heard this incredible book was being turned into a movie (with Tom Blyth and Emily Bader no less)!

I re-read the book just before the movie came out so I’d be prepared. I’ve seen the movie twice now, and while it is absolutely amazing and has the potential to bring back rom-coms, there are definitely differences between the book and movie.

1. In the book, Poppy turns down a company trip to Santorini to travel to Palm Springs, California with Alex for his brother David’s wedding. In the movie, Poppy convinces her boss Swapna to let her do a feature on weddings in Barcelona, Spain. She travels to Barcelona for the wedding instead of California, and her meeting with Alex seems a little more like coincidence than a planned trip.

2. The two characters are supposed to be staying together on this Palm Springs summer’s trip  (a.k.a. Barcelona). Instead, in Barcelona, Alex stays to try to fix Poppy’s AC. While this doesn’t seem like a huge change, in the book actually they decide to take this trip together. Alex staying somewhere else and getting his own rental car leaves the two feeling even more disconnected than in the book.

3. In the book, Poppy and Alex initially meet during move-in weekend, but don’t really connect until they carpool home to Linfield, Ohio together from University of Chicago (changed to be University of Boston in the movie).

4. The gas station stop, wishing well, and hotel are all absent from the book. Their discussions from their night in the hotel are spread out over their year in college in the book. I think this conversation about Alex’s mom would’ve been a great time to explain how she died, since it’s very important later on in the book. Another change is turning Sarah into Alex’s high school sweetheart instead of a girl he met in college.

5. Book Poppy and Alex both have two brothers; Alex’s are younger and Poppy’s are older. While it doesn’t seem like a big deal to remove these brothers from the movie, it removes a lot about these characters’ pasts. We don’t learn about how Alex stepped up when his mother died, caring for his two younger brothers. We don’t learn about Poppy’s eclectic, full house and we only get a taste of her larger-than-life parents. I think their home lives explain so much of each of their characters and in the movie, we’re missing that piece.

6. Poppy and Alex don’t meet their “fellow” newly-weds until their Palm Springs vacation, but I think it actually fits really well into the New Orleans trip. Their dance scene is easily the best in the whole movie, and truly brings back the classic 90s/early 2000s rom-com vibes. This trip was the best from the book to the movie, even if it is a little different.

7. The only crumbs we get from their Vail trip are when Poppy sprains her ankle, which, in the movie, takes place in New Orleans. BUT they kept in Alex’s line about Poppy calling him Seabiscuit or yelling for him to go faster, so I can’t complain. (And Julian doesn’t show up. Ever.)

8. Probably the biggest difference between the book and movie is the Tuscany/Croatia trip. In the book, Poppy and Alex don’t cross the boundary of their friendship until their trip to Croatia. However, in the movie the two nearly kiss after their relief that Poppy isn’t pregnant. Left out is the fact that Alex’s mother died in childbirth, which was such a huge part in the book. Also, book Alex never would’ve proposed to Sarah right after the pregnancy scare.

9. Poppy and Alex do a lot more in Palm Springs than they do in Barcelona. The two explore the city and go to the zoo, and have great conversations even while stuck in the apartment due to Alex’s back spasm. Because of this, we unfortunately lost Poppy and Alex’s great conversation about their Tinder profiles. I do wish we’d gotten to see a little more of this summer’s vacation in the movie.

10. The movie makes it seem as though Poppy quit her amazing, highpaying dream job to move to small town Ohio to be with Alex. However, in the book, it’s a bit more complicated. After starting therapy and running into an old classmate, Poppy realizes that she isn’t happy with her life, she doesn’t have to avoid her hometown anymore, and she truly wants to be with Alex. Their confessions are changed a little, but not enough to make a huge difference. However, Poppy runs into Sarah as she’s working as a teacher in Ohio in the book (not as a flight attendant).

    
    

There are a few other cuts and differences, (like the Sanibel Island and Vail trips) but they don’t impair the story or change it too much. I think one thing they definitely got right and I’m so glad it was included was Norway. This “trip” was really the solidifying piece, to me, of their relationship and proves that they’re so much more than friends. The Canada trip is a little different too, but key details are kept in the movie and we get to see Buck and Daisy.

While the movie touched on Poppy and Alex’s inside jokes, (“It speaks to me” and “Too many wine”) I do wish those little things would’ve come up again throughout the film like they do in the book, and I wish more of their witty banter was included (and their bit with the Ford Aspire). In the book, there’s a bit more back and forth between Poppy and Alex that eventually leads to them getting together, but I understand why some of this was removed to keep the movie from being five hours long. Overall, I think the movie did a great job adapting the book into an easily digestible film for unfamiliar audiences.