When Harry met Sally is hailed as one of the best romantic comedies of all time. Written by Nora Ephron and produced by Rob Reiner, the film offers the slow burn of rom-com lovers’ dreams as it follows two recent college graduates who form a complex friendship over the course of decades. The film features gorgeous cinematography of New York City in autumn, and costume and hair changes on Harry and Sally (Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan respectively) as they age through several decades.
The dynamic between the characters has a timeless feel Which continues to resonate with viewers in the 30-plus years since the film’s release. The film’s cultural significance inspired rising romance writer Emily Henry, whose No. 1 New York Times Bestselling novel People we meet on vacation Will soon get its own film adaptation on Netflix.
People we meet on vacation can be a spiritual successor to when Harry meets Sally
How this modern take on a timeless story has the potential to become a new classic
Brett Haley is set to direct Netflix’s adaptation of People we meet on vacation. Haley previously directed All the bright places For the streaming platform, that was another book-to-TV adaptation. Yulin Kuang, another romance writer turned screenwriter, is adapting the source material for the screen. Emily Bader and Tom Blyth have been cast in the starring roles, the former of My Lady Jane And the last of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
The novel, published in 2021 by Berkley Books, Follows Poppy Wright and Alex Nielsen as unlikely best friends who meet at the University of Chicago And stay friends for years after college. Poppy loves to travel, and the couple maintain an annual tradition of a trip together every summer, which culminates in Poppy’s career as a travel journalist. It offers a nuanced look at interpersonal relationships and their changing behavior over time.
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The pair’s unlikely dynamic lies in Alex’s responsible and academic nature versus Poppy’s free spirit and curiosity. Netflix has churned out a number of successful rom-coms in recent years, some even more critically acclaimed than theatrical releases like Anyone but you. For example, Netflix’s book-to-film adaptation of To all the boys I’ve loved before Sitting at a 96% critics score on Rotten TomatoesWhile Anyone but you said a 52% critics score. For this reason, critics look forward to the upcoming People we meet on vacation adaptation, which is set to begin filming next month (via Louisiana Entertainment).
Like when Harry met Sally inspired people we meet on the author of Vacation
Emily Henry called her novel “A Homage” to When Harry Met Sally
In the reader’s guide for People we meet on vacation, Henry confirms that she wrote the novel in homage to the famous rom-com. Henry writes, “During their first scenes together, I find cynical, horny Harry almost unbearable. But then Efron works her magic, and everything changes. A softer Harry emerges … and together, over the course of minutes and years, Sally and I fall in Love with the last person we expect to.” Henry goes on to claim that a homage to the film was never her original intention, just that She grew to admire the story of two characters who are polar opposites learning to love and complete one another.
This dynamic is evident through the juxtaposition of Poppy’s unconventional lifestyle with Alex’s safer route. The novel reminds readers that love can be found in unexpected places, and resonates so much that it dominates The New York Times Bestseller list At #1 for 15 weeks.
Every similarity between when harry met sally and people we meet on vacation
People We Meet on Vacation gives the central story a 2020s update
There are a number of narrative similarities and Easter eggs between When Harry met Sally And People we meet on vacation. Both the film and the novel begin on the campus of the University of Chicago, and both Harry and Sally and Poppy and Alex’s friendships begin on a road trip at the end of the semester. Harry and Sally are heading to New York City together to start their respective careers, and Poppy and Alex are heading back to their small Ohio hometown for the summer.
What is most intriguing to compare the main characters of the film and the novel is that the traits associated with Harry and Sally are basically swapped in gender. People we meet on vacation.
Sally is the character who maintains stable relationships and a career as a journalist, while Harry is in and out of casual relationships and works in the grim world of politics. in People we meet on vacation, Poppy finds herself in several unstable relationships and is constantly traveling for work, while Alex returns to his hometown after receiving his doctorate to teach English at the local high school and care for his family, all the while maintaining a serious relationship that ends in heartbreak.
While gender-swapped, the novel creates a very similar dynamic to When Harry met Sally Which allows the characters to spar with one another about their differences, but ultimately come to understand one another. Additionally, the notable montage of Harry and Sally’s late-night phone calls can certainly be equated with the humorous selfies Poppy and Alex exchange over text, giving the original story a millennial update. like When Harry met Sally Keep going 89% score on Rotten tomatoes, People we meet vacation has the potential to pass the rom-com torch to a new generation.