this booktok romance fave is now a movie... but is it good? - bonus chapter: people we meet on vacation (2026 movie)

this month on the show, we are belatedly but excitedly discussing the first cinematic adaptation of one of our most reliable author’s works - we’re talking about the Netflix adaptation of The People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. we are no strangers to the Emily Henry universe on this show, with past episodes on beach read, happy place and funny story. we’ll discuss casting choices (preemptive formal apology to Emily Bader for the nonstop blathering about how beautiful she is), sound track, favourite scenes, best outfits and weirdly mention A Bug’s Life more than you’d imagine.

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Transcript

Bridget 0:00

Hello and welcome to a Talk Lit Get Hit bonus chapter. The little book chats in between the big ones. We'll talk about reading, authors, and have discussions with people who, like us, can't shut up about books.

Laura 0:12

We might get sidetracked and talk about literally anything else, but this is a bonus chapter we wrote just for you. This month on the show, we are belatedly but excitedly discussing the first cinematic adaptation of one of our most reliable author's works. We're talking about the Netflix adaptation of people we meet on vacation. Bridget, hello, hello. Hello, hello, how are you? I'm so well.

Bridget 0:36

Feel like it's been a long time since we've talked about Emily Henry.

Laura 0:40

It sort of has been, actually, like quite long in between drinks, based on our like previous track record of always banging on about her. Always talking about Emily Henry. Well, we've been podcasting since 2022 and talking about Emily Henry for almost as long. So we have our Beach Read episode from February 2023. Then in the same year, we were back for more. We have Happy Place in May 2023. And that one was quite a big event because we were like staying up late, going to get the book, reading it in a frenzy. Get this episode out, hot off the press. I really want to. And then the last Emily Henry book we discussed was Funny Story in June 2024.

Bridget 1:26

Yeah, and actually, I just remembered that we did have quite a passionate rant about great big beautiful life before we'd even read it in one of our bonus chapters. We were like, people don't like it, but we reckon it'll be great. You've read it now, haven't you? Yeah. So have I. I mean, it was fine. Good. It was good. I wouldn't say it was great, but I think we were referring to the haters being like, it's just the same as Evelyn Hugo. And we were like, it would always be better than anything that Taylor Jenkins reads would write. And I agree with that. I stand by my point.

Laura 1:58

I agree too. I think another thing was people were like, there's not any space. Yeah. To that I would say, yeah, there's an old lady in it. There's too many old people. Look I'm up. Yeah. So I mean, all that to say, we are uniquely positioned to enjoy this movie, I feel. But let's chat about it. So just a word to the wise, if you haven't read or watched The People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, will probably be spoiling both the book and the movie. So if you don't want to hear any spoilers, hit pause, subscribe to the show, and come back when you're ready. The People We Meet on Vacation, or You and Me on Vacation, as I think UK and Australian audiences may know it as, is a book by, spoiler alert, American novelist Emily Henry, written in 2021. I did think this book was her debut, but it was actually her second adult romance novel published not so long after she wrote Beach Read. I always think this one's a funny story for some reason. I don't know why. Like it just Yeah, and I'm never sure of the title.

Bridget 3:05

I don't think that people we meet on vacation actually make sense. I think you and me on vacation makes way more sense. Yeah, I agree. And I don't know the reason why there's two titles. Maybe I could have Googled that at any point, but I haven't.

Laura 3:19

I did Google it and basically the answer was they just thought it would appeal to their respective audiences more. Right. I don't understand what the difference is. I love that that's someone's job. Yeah, can I change three words? Yes, I can. I guess one of my favorite examples of this is Philosopher's Stone versus Sorcerer's Stone. They were like, Americans won't know what that is.

Bridget 3:42

You and me? Who? Me and who? People oh. Nice.

Laura 3:50

Got it.

Bridget 3:52

Anyway, I also thought this was Emily Henry's first book, and I've actually written it here, or maybe you wrote it here, Emily Henry's first book.

Laura 4:00

No, that was me. My bad.

Bridget 4:03

I also thought it was her first book. Maybe that's because it was the first Emily Henry book that I read.

Laura 4:09

Ah, okay.

Bridget 4:10

Yeah. So I read this in 2022. I rated it four stars, but I do look back on it quite fondly, even though I don't remember what happened in the story. But I remember there being like some culmination in Palm Springs in like a really hot hotel. I remember that, and that's always been in my mind. But it's always been on my to reread list. It was around the time I think we were starting the podcast. So I think that was around the time where I was discovering book talk and not just reading books that were on Emma Watson's book club list on Goodreads and like books that I'd bought at Lifeline Bookfest in the last, you know, 10 years or so.

Laura 4:47

I remember talking to you about it when you were reading it, and you said you really enjoyed it, which made me want to read it. I also really enjoyed it. This could be me misremembering, but I think I definitely read Beach Read. I may also have read Book Lovers. And I know I was fairly complimentary on the show about Beach Read, but I know when I read it I didn't like it that much. When I read People We Meet on Vacation, I thought, this is so much better. Why aren't people talking about it? And in fact, this has been cemented in my review where I rated it four stars and said, This one is so good. Exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark. Why does everyone talk about Beach Reed instead? Loses a point for perpetual tiny girl syndrome. Spoiler alert, this will continue throughout all Emily Henry books. Otherwise Alex and Poppy forever. So I was a big fan. So it was first announced in October 2022 that this film was being made. So we've been waiting for a very long time. Such a long time. Wow, Hollywood doesn't move quickly, does it? Hollywood wasn't built in a day, Bridget. The People We Meet on Vacation was directed by Brett Haley. I had not heard of him, but he's directed around 20 projects, some of which I was actually familiar with. Were you familiar with any of his works when you looked it up? Not a single one.

Bridget 6:03

I did see that he that he had directed one episode of the Looking for Alaska miniseries in 119. Just one little episode. But yeah, no, and had never heard of them. Some that I saw were all together now in all the bright places. Just thought it was funny how both of them had the word all in them. Interesting.

Laura 6:19

That's looking at Alaska. Yeah. Oh my god. What the hell?

Bridget 6:23

That's like a conspiracy.

Laura 6:25

Oh, we meet on vacation. Oh my god.

Bridget 6:28

We've uncovered something huge here.

Laura 6:30

This is sinister and it's gonna be huge.

Bridget 6:32

Where on do you, Brett Haley? And actually, this is a side note and not really relevant at all, but I keep listening to that song. Um, I just saw hey, please come. And so when I saw his name, I was like, oh, like the comment. Oh my god. I didn't know anything about the director, but I did know that one of the screenwriters was Yuling Kuang, who is an independent filmmaker and the author of one of my favourite books from 2025, which is How to End a Love Story.

Laura 7:01

That's pretty much one of the only things I knew about this as well, although I still haven't read How to End a Love Story.

Bridget 7:06

Yeah. Something else I found quite funny was that the other two screenwriters, Amos Vernon and Nanzio Rendazzo, they both had various credits to their name, but they were both uh working on Hotel Transylvania Transformia. That was their like main credit on IMDb. Known for. So I think maybe we need to watch that movie.

Laura 7:27

Yeah, it's gonna be good.

Bridget 7:29

I think we should start talking about the cast because I am so keen to talk about it. I love Emily Bader and I love Tom Blythe. Let's just talk about them because I've got nothing more to say about the screenwriters.

Laura 7:41

We had such a wealth of knowledge to draw for. So, what kind of screens do you write on, mainly? i bed. Anyway, Emily Bader, she has a very like classically beautiful face. I feel like Andy McDowell type vibes. Like she's got that great bone structure, she looks expensive. Great hair. Oh crap. Yeah, I'm obsessed. Yeah, same. I knew you would be.

Bridget 8:08

I've been obsessed with her since I watched maybe two or three episodes of My Lady Jane, which was a show released in 2024, I think, on Amazon Prime. And I stopped watching after they cancelled it after one season, so I was like, I don't want, I don't want to watch the end of this. So I will never know how that show ended, and I never want to know, but I loved it. Also saw that she's appeared in quite a few horror movies. It's good for me. I love a horror movie. That's good. Because I was gonna say I'm never gonna watch them. But I want her to sort of go more this way into like fluffy movies that aren't gonna make me scared.

Laura 8:39

I don't know anything about tennis, but I did see she just recently got cast in a biopic of a tennis player. Oh. Don't know who they are, no offense to that woman, but she looks exactly the same. Interesting. So again, casting directors, nice work. Could never do your job. No. I know a little bit about tennis. I know a thing or two about tennis.

Bridget 9:03

Oh no, soccer. Soccer.

Laura 9:05

Bloody hell, me ahead. That's how little I know about any sport.

Bridget 9:08

Okay, so she is not gonna be in a tennis movie. She's gonna be in a soccer movie. Call the 99ers. Nano, just keep going. Damn it. Because you don't know anything about soccer either, so it's fine. Tennis soccer. There's a ball. Potato potato. She's so beautiful. I was entranced by her every time she was on the screen. I was like, she is so pretty. Oh my god. Maybe that's why I don't remember much of the movie. I mean, spoiler alert, but I do remember a lot about how she looked, and she looked great.

Laura 9:40

Yeah. My first note was, oh my god, she's so beautiful. And then my second note was, oh my god, her boss is so beautiful. We actually looking at our show notes now. And under Emily Bader, there's two dot points. Her year of birth, the fact that she was in My Lady Jane, and nothing else. Hang on.

Bridget 10:04

Just talking about Tom Vlight. There's not much to say about her. I tried so hard to find some more interesting tidbits, but there wasn't really anything other than she's so gorgeous.

Laura 10:15

She also seems very like charming and like I again. I know this kind of ties into a recent episode where we were saying that chemistry is a hot person's game. Yeah. But watching interviews with Tom Blythe and Emily Bader, I was like, oh, I know for certain I would be best friends with her. Yes. Same. I was like, she could fit in with us.

Bridget 10:35

So um okay, Tom Blythe. He was born in 1995. He was born in Birmingham, but he did grow up in Nottingham. He trained at Juilliard in New York City and he graduated in 2020. He has been in a few films and series, including Billy the Kid, The Gilded Age, Benediction, and of course he played young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games. I hold him personally responsible for Suzanne Collins writing Sunrise on the Reaping. Because we were thirsting, and I'm saying we, including myself in that, we were thirsting after young President Snow a little bit too much, thanks to the TikTok editors. And Suzanne was like, hold on a sec. I've got something for you losers. Here you go. Cry about this. Let me shut you down. Stop it. Stop watching videos of him in that red suit.

Laura 11:24

So thanks for that, Tom. I really wanted to hear your thoughts in particular on Tom Blythe in this movie because it is known that you were a big fan of him in the ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Did your love for him transfer to a new medium? To a new film? It did.

Bridget 11:41

Yeah. Yep.

Laura 11:42

Okay.

Bridget 11:43

And also I just think he's a nice guy. Like I watched quite a few interviews, and the female co-stars he's had speak very highly of him. Like Rachel Zegler sometimes catches up with him and posts a little cute photo on her Instagram. And I think that is a good thing. He seems funny. He seems a bit chill. He seems a bit more laid back than Alex. I like him.

Laura 12:05

Apart from Emily Bader and Tom Blythe, there were quite a few other just unexpected appearances. There was Lucas Gage, who I thought was like maybe a little bit too famous to have such a minor role in this. He was the boat driver that she almost hooks up with. Yeah, who is he? He's been in like The White Lotus, You. Oh. Quite a few other like Netflix shows. And then there was also Sarah Catherine Hook, who I guess is not super famous, but she was recently in The White Lotus and Cruel Intentions, I think. There was a TV show. She was playing Alex's girlfriend, also named Sarah. But the last kind of cameo that really took me by surprise was Alan Ruck, who was a Cameron in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I don't really know who that man is.

Bridget 12:48

I don't like Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I hated it. But I'm actually the last few days have been sort of a reckoning for me and like my identity because I watched A Bug's Life. And when I was a kid, I hated that movie. And I don't remember it, but I was enthralled by it. So now I'm like, do I like everything I've ever hated? Maybe if I watch Ferris Feelers Day Off, maybe I'll love it. Who's to say?

Laura 13:14

Can you name one more thing that you've come to? I will later. How good is a bug's life though? There's the purple one, there's the blue one. I have a beautiful butterfly. My beautiful wings. He's my favorite.

Bridget 13:32

I don't know why I didn't like it when I was a kid. I also hated chicken run and I hated ants, so maybe I need to watch all of them.

Laura 13:39

Ants is really scary. Is it? It's like very traumatic. My husband accidentally watched ants once instead of watching Bugs Life. And it's not it's a lot more grim. Like there's an ant that gets blasted in half in war and he said it upset him the whole time. He was like, When's the blue ant coming?

Bridget 13:57

They were so cute. They had their little like girl guides troop, the blueberries. Oh yeah. Actually, kill me now. This has nothing to do with what we're talking about. Why? How did we get onto this? Oh, that's right. Karen from Ferris Bheelers Day Off.

Laura 14:09

Well, apart from the fact that Emily Bader was distractingly beautiful and Tom Blythe was also there. What else did you think about this movie? Yeah, when I say I like him, uh Emily really just looking at her. He's yeah, he was there. Maybe let's narrow it down and start by just talking about Poppy.

Bridget 14:31

Thank God we are back to the manic pixie dream girl kind of vibe in cinema. Not that I'm really well versed in cinema, but this is what I love. I love a whimsical, silly little girl who in real life would be annoying as shit, but it is a delight to watch them on screen just charm their way through life. Every single outfit she wore, stunning. Every little joke, every little quip she had, amazing. I loved the character of Poppy. What did you think about her?

Laura 15:01

I also really enjoyed the character of Poppy, and I was really impressed by Emily Abeda's ability to kind of bring a little bit of earnestness, I guess, to that character. Because I think on paper, and I know I sort of struggled with this a little bit reading the book, it's just hard to imagine anyone like that in real life. But I think she was so endearing and charming, and it was like kind of the same thing happened to me as what happened to Alex, where she just like wore me down and like really grew on me throughout the movie. So I was kind of blown away because everything about her tells me I should hate her.

Bridget 15:34

The question I had was should this movie have been a series? Because I felt like it was quite long, like it was nearly two hours long, but I felt that it barely scratched the surface of the characters and of the plot. Although I can't remember the book too much. I know there's lots of things that have been omitted from the story, but I don't really see how they would fit all that in either. So I'm sort of like in two minds about it. But I think the way that Poppy's character was written and portrayed was really good because we saw all those like silly, carefree moments where she was just so charming, but we also saw some more serious and like earnest moments, like when she was getting home to her silent apartment and she was like sadly looking in the fridge. That would have been interesting to have that explored a bit more as well. We got enough of that serious stuff at the start to make the end speech make sense, but I think it would have been really interesting to see that explored in depth in maybe like a miniseries or something like that.

Laura 16:32

Yeah, I agree. I think it felt a little bit sort of undercooked. I think that is something that Emily Henry does really well, that sort of ability to give her characters a little bit more depth and portray them as like very real, flawed people. Even when I was watching the movie and the conversation around like people only knowing her as like blowjar, poppy or whatever it was, I was like, do people really like latch on to stuff like that? Like, does that really happen in American high schools? Like, it just didn't quite seem enough. But I know when it was explained in the book, it felt very real to me. I think the show also would have benefited Alex's perspective a little bit, and I know we'll probably touch on it more later, but I think we only really had the opportunity to dig a little deeper into Poppy's side of things.

Bridget 17:17

Yeah, that is true because I do remember really understanding why he had moved back to their hometown in the book, and I couldn't quite remember it when I was watching the movie. So yeah, it would be interesting to see what it would be like if it was a series.

Laura 17:30

I did sort of think of all the Emily Henry books, this was an interesting one to firstly adapt, first of all. Like I was quite intrigued that this was picked up over any of the others. Maybe it's just that more people were fighting over the others or something like that. Yeah. And I also thought this is probably the one book that I wouldn't make into a show. Like I think Beach Reed, Book Lovers, Happy Place could probably all be a movie.

Bridget 17:55

I feel like they're sort of a bit more insular. Like this is quite broad in like the scope of time that it covers, and also just like the locations around the world. Like the every year, I think for 11 years in the book, they were jet-setting around the world, and that's a lot of ground to cover. So it seems like a big mammoth task to put into a two-hour movie. Saying all that though, when I finished it, I felt very happy about the movie as a whole. I think it's just been the weeks since I've seen it. I've been thinking about it a little bit more and being like, oh, maybe it would have been better if it this was included, or maybe it would have been better if we didn't spend quite so much time on this. But when the credits were rolling, I was like, wow, that was great. I really had a good time watching that. And maybe it doesn't have to be that deep. Maybe it can just be I had a great time watching it.

Laura 18:39

I also really enjoyed the movie, but I was sort of thinking if I didn't already have some sort of association with the book or like memories from the book, then the movie probably would be pretty forgettable to me. Which again, maybe it doesn't have to be that deep. I watched a movie and I enjoyed it. Not everything has to be like the best, most impactful piece of art.

Bridget 18:59

Yeah.

Laura 19:00

The movie definitely didn't do the same things for me that the book did. I kind of touched on it before, but I sort of feel like I didn't really get enough out of Alex. And I remember in the book, he really grew on me. What I enjoyed about his character in in both instances was that he is just like the most normal guy. He is just someone everyone knows. I think everybody knows someone pretty much like Alex, who's like kind of serious, kind of self-conscious, soft and funny and silly, like the more you get to know him. Yeah. There's nothing like quote unquote special about Alex. And I really like that in a romance, and I really like that pitted against a character like Poppy, who's so larger than life and like so high achieving.

Bridget 19:44

Yeah, it's grumpy sunshine in a way that doesn't make me sick. Yeah, he's not like wheatgrass. He's not gonna kill anyone who puts their hands on her. He's just going to work, he goes to the gym, he goes home, cooks dinner, and goes to bed.

Laura 19:58

Yeah, stay stable, reliable, and I love that. But I will say I think he was a little bit too boring in the movie. I don't think it ever quite reached this level, but there were minor minor shades of I have a crush on someone, you know her, to this character. Because I just don't think he was interesting enough. Like Tom Blythe is lucky that he's so attractive and like charming because I think that's what made it work. But I reckon if they were just going on script alone, some of the more sort of personable and real elements of Alex were stripped away.

Bridget 20:33

Yeah, I think maybe we needed at least one more trip. The ones that we saw were like sort of extremes. They went camping and that was crazy, like the skinny dipping, and he was acting very out of character for that. Um, and then we saw them in New Orleans and they were drunk. And that was my favourite. Loved that. Amazing. But it would have been nice maybe to just get a holiday or a day where they weren't drunk or like with other people. With other people, like just to see that sort of friendship that we were told was there before it sort of was going into the flirty will they weren't they? Because I think for someone who hasn't read the book, it would seem a bit unrealistic that they would go on this trip every year. But they obviously do have a friendship, like they have that foundation there, and we just didn't really see that foundation very much. So maybe like one more trip or like a few more hangouts where the stakes aren't so high, they're just casually hanging out. But is that boring to watch as well? I don't know.

Laura 21:28

Because then I mean it's a totally different thing, but you think about shows like normal people, which is like just a show about people hanging out and talking about their feelings.

Bridget 21:36

Well, it's funny you bring up normal people because what I was gonna say is this is a normal people alternate universe where people are allowed to be happy. Yeah. It like it's sort of like sliding doors like when are they ever gonna get together? Oh, here's where they get together. Like it's opposite to normal people, but it was it had the same sort of vibe for me.

Laura 21:53

And it's like at the end, you want to do your thing and I want to do my thing. Let's compromise, let's go. You moved to New York. If only there was a way.

Bridget 22:05

When we were recording our The Hating Game episode, there was something that I was desperately trying to remember. I was so sure that I loved a book that had a sick bed trope. And I was like, But what is it? And it was this. Amazing. I love uh I'm so sick, I can't get out of bed. I don't know if I with what I'm saying is coherent, but you're here to take care of me. And I might accidentally tell you that I love you. Love it. And I'm glad that was in the movie.

Laura 22:32

Her sick makeup was so good too. Yes, she actually looked sick. And he was so nice. That was so nice. But I will say that I was also like, Yeah. All that money.

Bridget 22:44

I know. But it's all it was all paid for by the people. True. They've got us by the plot. They've got us by the plot. And even that, like, that wasn't really. I know. But they're together. Yeah. Yeah. I thought their chemistry was great. Like, I think we talked a little bit before about their chemistry in the interviews, but I think they worked together as a couple really well. I think the sex scene and the lead up to the sex scene was great. Like, I loved how she had to go outside and cut open that tarp because I was like, that would be what I would do too. Like, I could not handle being in that like stagnant air, awful. And like she's trying to get away from the conversation and she can't. And then they're in the rain and they're kissing. Oh my god, amazing.

Laura 23:24

And that whole scene was like so cinematic and like atmospheric. So beautiful. Soft light, the like shimmer from the rain, her beautiful dress.

Bridget 23:34

Yes. Oh, I think everything in that scene was so great. I have seen online that there was a steamier sex scene. Really? That was cut. And so Emily Henry talked about it a little bit. She said it was gorgeous and perfect. I mean, I feel a little bit guilty because I went and told all my friends it's one of the sexiest sex scenes I've ever seen in my life. Like genuinely, it was like Titanic level to me. It was so, so good and raw and tender. They had started doing test screenings, and people who, especially people who weren't familiar with the books, felt kind of like it was a hard right turn in the movie. If it doesn't fit in the movie, then it doesn't work. It has to serve the larger movie. I don't want anyone to feel like they were jolted out of the story and feel like they hopped rails into a different movie. And then the director Brett Haley said, it didn't gel with the movie that they were making. The level of spiciness does not fit this tone. You see them grow up, you see them as kids, and then you see them as adults. And so it was really important to me to find a balance. However, Emily Henry did say, I wonder if someday there could be a director's cut where people can see this scene because it is really so beautiful. They all just outdid themselves. It feels so tender and real, but very, very sexy and romantic. Oh, I've never wanted to see anything more. Oh it would be good to have a director's cut. I really did like the way it was in the movie. I think it was just enough. It would have fallen out of place.

Laura 24:55

Yeah. I could be misremembering, but I do sort of seem to remember thinking that the sex scene in this book or sex scenes were quite good. So I definitely remembered the Palm Springs no air con thing. Yes. But I thought there was like one or two other sex scenes between them where I was like, this is not that bad, Emily.

Bridget 25:13

I've had a few brief visits to TikTok over the last few days while I've been writing these notes, and I saw a lot of really lukewarm takes, mainly about Alex, and that Emily Henry endorses emotional cheating because Vacation Alex is a dickhead who just cheats on his girlfriend. And can we all get a grip? Can we all touch grass? Like they are characters in a story. The story does not have to be morally perfect. It's a story. Oh my god. Can we just not enjoy something?

Laura 25:45

Please. I mean, I can't really remember how Sarah's story wrapped up at the end of the book. I did like, you know, the good for you girl kind of moment where she was like, no Poppy, don't worry about Alex breaking up with me because I've found out what I really want to be. It was like, thank God I love when that moment happens in the rom-com. It's always all too convenient, but like so relieving. I'm absolved of my sins.

Bridget 26:11

Yeah. Just like, who cares about Sarah? Honestly. Who gives a shit? She's not in the story. And it doesn't matter. Like, if you think about all of the great rom-coms of the past, when have we ever put so much ethical responsibility on the characters? Never. Why are we starting to do this? It's not fun. Just enjoy the movie. Something funny that I did see a few people saying was that Emily Henry wrote Funny Story as an apology to Sarah. Miles and whatever that girl's name was in Funny Story, their respective partners cheated on them or broke up with them and got together. And she was like, Well, this is Sarah's story now. So I don't know. If you if that makes you feel better, fine. One more dumb thing that I saw on TikTok, and then I was like, that's enough of me. I'm off this stupid app. Was a girl saying something along the lines of, oh my god, I love Poppyright. She has just normalized wearing an oversized t-shirt to the gym. And people in the comments were like, girl, you can wear whatever you want to the gym. And she was like, no, but like, you know, like I wear a set to the gym. People need to get their own personalities. Like, what's the shoe we're wearing this fall? Who cares? You can wear an oversized t-shirt to the gym, guys. Girls, it's called a pump cover.

Laura 27:29

Look it up.

Bridget 27:29

Wear whatever you want.

Laura 27:31

I just ah that is mind-numbing.

Bridget 27:34

Yeah.

Laura 27:34

I'm very thankful to live a life where seeing someone in a movie wear a t-shirt to the gym isn't breaking news.

Bridget 27:40

So funny. I also saw a few videos being like how to live a poppyright life. How to be whimsical. How to be blah blah blah blah. And I think the key to living a poppyright life and the key to being whimsical is not following TikTok tutorials on how to live a poppyright life. She has a personality, she has her own thing. She's a fictional character, but she develops her outfits and her personality around things that she enjoys, not based on what is trending and not based on what is going to get her the most likes on TikTok.

Laura 28:12

Yes, this is true. Poppyright would never have TikTok. One last thing I thought about Poppy slash Emily Bader was like, what good food acting. The way she was chowing down on that burrito. Yes. Anytime she was like eating or drinking, I was like, what's gone into this scene? Like, did she practice this in the mirror? Is this how she normally eats? Like, fantastic. No notes. I loved it. Yeah. I normally really hate to see people eating food and like hear chewing sounds. Not that you could hear them in this movie.

Bridget 28:39

Should have been annoying the way she was like, I love burritos. I love sauce. Pizza. I love it. Really like Ellie Hazelwood sort of eyes. But loved it. Sorry. I I don't know who I am, but I love her. One more thing that I would really love to talk about is the soundtrack. And I thought the soundtrack as a whole was really fantastic. I've been listening to it over the past few nights while I've been writing my notes. And you know, I'm like, oh, am I in Barcelona? Am I in like an indie pub somewhere? Am I in New Orleans having a great time? And I thought it was absolutely fantastic. And I had four highlights. I love a movie where there is a music moment. I'm thinking 500 Days of Summer when he does the big dance number to the Hall of Known song. I can't really think of any others. Do you have any others? Maybe come on Eileen in Perks of Being a Wallflower. Yes. I love it when it's just sort of integrated into the story. And like obviously, yes, in real life, if there was someone coming down an escalator, waiting for their luggage at the luggage claims, singing a song out loud, you would be like, okay, go home, but obsessed with it. That was Hang with Me by Robin. And then of course, we can't not talk about Forever You Girl by Paula Abdul. Like in the car, when she has her like sharp head snap and she's like, Hey babe. Oh, amazing. And then, of course, when the song returns and they did the dance in New Orleans, that was amazing as well. That was one of the best moments, Alex, because he really just let go and such a good dance.

Laura 30:09

I think we needed just one more moment like that. Just like a little bit of silly.

Bridget 30:13

Yes.

Laura 30:14

Even if it was just private silly, like you just want to see him being a little bit of a freak.

Bridget 30:18

Yes. Another great moment was when she entered the rehearsal dinner and August by Taylor Swift started playing. I was watching it with Maddie, and it was like split second, we like straight away recognized the like soft little sounds of August. It was just absolutely perfect. And also, I unexpectedly was really sad when Cool About It by Boy Genius started playing. That was a really nice inclusion, I think. I just think all of the songs on the soundtrack were really good, and like as a whole, it's quite cohesive. It was great. I really enjoyed it too. Think I might need to go on a beach holiday and just listen to that. And then to New Orleans. Yes.

Laura 30:55

And then to Canada. Italy. I can't remember anywhere else they went. No. More destinations in America than I remembered.

Bridget 31:03

Yeah, but once again, Emily Henry is the ambassador for tourism USA. I want to go to them. Yeah. Even though I really, really don't.

Laura 31:09

I've never been to New Orleans, but I did think in those scenes where they were like, you know, the parades and the parties in the street, I was like, this looks a little bit too much like a movie set. This is very clean, very colourful. But then again, have never been to New Orleans. No, no. There was not a speck of dirt on that ground. Every bin, not overflowing. Every wig, perfect. Yeah. Oh, she looked so good in that wig. She looks so good in that outfit. So, all in all, I think I would chalk that adaptation up as a success, would you? Yes. Oh, definitely. Yeah. In case our like declarations of love and like proposals of marriage weren't enough. So Yulin Kwang, who adapted People We Meet on Vacation, will also be adapting Beach Reed. Happy Place is being developed into a Netflix series with Jennifer Lopez's production company. And Emily Henry is writing the script for a funny story movie. When are we getting another Emily Henry book? I feel like by this point we'd have an announcement. Let's see, we've just missed it. I do remember there being big beef about Jennifer Lopez's production company picking up Happy Place. I remember you having big beef with that. Yeah, well, it was Peak We Hate Jennifer Lopez's time on the internet. I have since touched a small amount of grass. A blade. Yeah. At best. I'm still not happy about it. I've I think I was just like quite doubtful because really the only films in their repertoire were like Jennifer Lopez films. So we had Hustler, we had Jennifer Lopez Halftime, we had Shotgun Wedding starring Jennifer Lopez. We had This Is Me Now, a Love Story starring Jennifer Lopez. We had Atlas starring Jennifer Lopez and a couple others. I would still probably list that as my favorite or like second favorite Emily Henry book. And I thought that it was a bit like softer and more sensitive than some of the others, so I just it felt like a mismatch. I'm open to being proven wrong.

Bridget 33:08

I've just done a quick Google, and she will not be releasing a book this year. So she's having a little bit of a break. I don't want that, Emily. Yeah. I mean, fair enough.

Laura 33:16

You do what you gotta do, but I see a lot of talk online about fan casts, and I was gonna ask you if you had any actors that you wanted, but I just remembered every other time we've tried to have a discussion about this and realize that none of us know any actors or have any vision.

Bridget 33:33

No, no, none. I do remember when we did our beach read episode making a lot of content, and the only fan cast I would ever see for Gus. Gus Everett was Logan Lehman. Logan Lerman. And that's stuck in my mind. Sorry to disappoint.

Laura 33:53

No, I have no vision. I'm happy to go along for the ride, and I'm happy to make a podcast episode about it if I disagree.

Bridget 34:01

List of hardest jobs in the world. Neuroscientist, rocket scientists, casting directors.

Laura 34:08

Yeah, a huge degree.

Bridget 34:11

For the month of March, our theme is Soft Boy Book Club. And we are reading The Catcher and the Rye by JD Salinger as voted by you. Have your say on what we read next by keeping an eye on the link in our show notes and on our socials. Make sure you subscribe to the show, and if you want to be on the same page as us, follow us at toplit.get on Instagram and TikTok.