I know I’m going to have a lot to say when it comes to People We Meet on Vacation, so I almost want to hold my thoughts close, but as the headline says, I can’t stop thinking about the teaser trailer. It’s not even a full trailer, and yet…I’m already losing it. But there’s a really specific moment that’s been replaying over and over in my head, even as I stop rewatching, and it’s the moment where Poppy and Alex are asked if they’re a couple.
The way that Alex releases a deep, heavy sigh and visibly swallows the lump in his throat while a thousand and one emotions play on his face is nothing short of exceptional acting from Tom Blyth. The man is hanging by the flimiest thread in existence, and the all-consuming love he has for his best friend is waging a war inside. Because the book is single POV, we don’t get much of Alex’s internal thoughts and feelings until he finally confesses everything to Poppy. (This confession is going to hit so hard in the movie, and there’s no way to prepare for it.) Still, we know that he feels the same way because his actions tell us plenty, but it’s so incredible how Blyth is already showing so much during the most brief, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene.
I know I’m going to want to write a full scene breakdown for this moment when the movie is officially out on January 9, but I can’t stop fixating on this small detail. On all the small details, really, because this teaser trailer is so good that it’s hard to believe it’s not the full-length trailer.
We knew that Emily Bader and Tom Blyth were perfect choices back when they were first cast, but every tiny moment we get between them in the trailer is proof of concept in such a gorgeous way that it’s genuinely outstanding. I can’t remember the last time a trailer hit me this hard, and we watch a bunch almost every day in this business. The depth of emotions that both actors are already evoking is genuinely unreal. So raw, vulnerable, sincere, and grounded in every way that even while there are cuts to the scene, we can already decipher so much of what’s happening beneath the surface.
Again, this is a direct result of excellent casting, but also a gratifying showcase of a solid adaptation. I don’t need to see the full cut of People We Meet on Vacation to tell that it’s obvious the book will be honored. There will understandably be changes here and there, but there’s already so much heart in each of these small scenes that it’s clear Emily Henry’s vision is intact.
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The teaser trailer is full of tiny glimpses, but it’s so clear in each of those moments that Bader and Blyth have a profound understanding of the book. The friends-to-lovers trope is one that’s been done before. We’ve seen these movies and we’ve read the books, but the good ones always hit like it’s the first time, every time, when the performances deliver the emotions with layers that we can keep pulling apart. Frame-by-frame, book fans are already giddy online, pulling apart the scenes by pairing them with moments of the text, and that, to me, is a sign of a job well done. It’s proof that come January, we’re going to have a lot of content to write about.
What are your thoughts on the People We Meet on Vacation teaser trailer? Let us know in the comments below.