'Netflix's new movie People We Meet On Vacation has made me believe in a rom-com resurgence.'

And so a new year begins, bringing the promise of hope, an ounce of joy, and — God willing — some stellar content. Hopefully of the rom-com variety.

We've been suffering through a romantic comedy crisis in recent years.

So much so, that Reese Witherspoon herself declared the death of rom-coms was to blame for the dramas of modern dating. And to that I say, fair enough Reese! Spending less time on Hinge and more time at the cinema is the kind of grassroots campaign I can get behind.

But a new Netflix film has given me reason to believe in a rom-com resurgence.

People We Meet On Vacation drops on Netflix today, the first book-to-screen adaptation for author Emily Henry (the first of five, in fact).

Will die-hard fans of the book be happy with the film? Well, as a die-hard fan myself, I am simply delighted.

But this review comes with a warning to book fans: the movie is 1 hour and 49 minutes long while the book is 400 pages. Things have been cut, changes have been made, and you might feel some level of disappointment. However I still loved it (so much so, I'm writing this article).

Image: Netflix.

People We Meet On Vacation is a classic friends-to-lovers romance, leaning into the whimsy and heartfelt joy of When Harry Met Sally as inspiration.

Poppy Wright (Emily Bader) and Alex Nielsen (Tom Blyth) first cross paths at college, becoming unlikely friends following a disastrous road trip back to their shared hometown.

Keeping their friendship alive post-college involves taking a trip together every single year — often funded by Poppy's employer, a travel magazine called R&R (Rest and Relaxation).

Yes, much like the very best leading ladies of the past, Poppy is a writer. Most of Emily Henry's female leads are.

Poppy is the quintessential quirky girl, with a clumsy demeanour, bold style, penchant for killing plants and delivering outrageous quips. She's a social extrovert with no "off" switch. The character borders on becoming a collection of tropes in a bedazzled trench coat, but the charm is there. She pulls it off. Beneath it all, lies a girl who grew up lonely and developed self-conscious fears that she was "too much" for anyone to love.

And then there's Alex: he is the standup guy. He's a straight-laced sort with a heart of gold. And he holds an undying, obvious-to-the-audience, years-long crush on Poppy.

Due to an incident I shall not spoil, the film opens with the pair no longer on speaking terms.

Through a series of flashbacks, we explore how their friendship came to be and what went terribly wrong, while also seeing them come together for one last vacation in the present day: the wedding of Alex's brother David (Miles Heizer) in Barcelona.

The movie flits between 'then' and 'now' as we watch Poppy and Alex's story unfold, offering heartwarming, cringe-worthy and emotionally fraught moments in equal measure.

Image: Netflix.

Fans of the book will be pleased to know that Poppy and Alex were in safe hands with Emily and Tom. Their chemistry was so evident, Henry said she began to re-imagine her own characters as these two actors.

While Tom is soft and lovable in his leading man moment, Emily steals the show with her endearing performance.

The cast is rounded out with some stellar casting in small roles: Jameela Jamil as Poppy's Editor; Molly Shannon and Alan Ruck as Poppy's parents; and Lukas Gage, Lucien Laviscount and Sarah Catherine Hook as other romantic interests for the lead characters.

This is not a 'perfect' movie and there are moments from the book that I was deeply sad not to see on screen. In particular, the 'present day' storyline sometimes struggled to deliver as strikingly as it did on the page, in contrast to the well-executed flashbacks.

While Poppy was a delight from page to screen, Alex might fall a bit flat for viewers who don't know him as intimately as the book-lovers.

The movie isn't quite at the level of a Nora Ephron or Nancy Meyers project. But it's certainly offering up something sweet, funny, and entertaining to watch. Dare I say, it's the best rom-com Netflix have dropped since the era of Set It Up and To All The Boys I've Loved Before.

Image: Netlix.

As Netflix has been busy specialising in Hallmark-style sappy romances in recent years, they haven't exactly been serving us content on par with the classic '90s and 2000s movies we hold so dear to our hearts. And hey, I love those silly movies too. But there's a difference between You've Got Mail and Irish Wish. And you can quote me on that.

While shows like Bridgerton, Nobody Wants This, The Summer I Turned Pretty and, most recently, the delectable Heated Rivalry have offered us a much-needed zap of classic rom-com joy, we've struggled to find movies that bring us such high levels of serotonin.

People We Meet On Vacation is a wonderful return to form. And sets us up nicely for the coming onslaught of book-to-screen adaptations Hollywood has in the works (including four more from Henry).

If you're reaching for the remote this weekend, I don't think you can go wrong with this lighthearted flick.

Feature Image: Netflix.