Tag: JameelaJamil

People We Meet on Vacation

Published on by DanielaLeave a comment

Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex (Tom Blyth) could not be more different. Poppy is outgoing, kills every plant she’s ever owned and can’t stay in one place for too long. Alex is reserved, would rather be stuck in a book and enjoys staying home. When the two meet by chance, they somehow become best friends. They decide that no matter how far apart they are, they will meet up once a year and go on vacation together.

The first of author Emily Henry’s books to be given the silver screen adaption treatment, Netflix had big shoes to fill. It’s the second of her six novels and I remember reading it as if it was yesterday – I was tucked up in a cottage in Canada with my husband during the summer of 2021. The weather was not on our side, but we made the most of it by watching movies, grilling under the covered deck and of course, reading. I was so excited when I heard that this was being made into a film. I’m pleased to report that they did it justice.

Every now and then, when you’re reading the source material, you sometimes have an idea in your mind of who you would like to be casted as the characters. I actually had no ideas prior to the film, but Bader and Blyth were Poppy and Alex. They exuded every single quality down to a tee. As the story was told mainly in Poppy’s perspective, Bader had a chance to really shine on screen and she did. I was already a fan from her time on My Lady Jane, but she’s proven now that she is a true leading lady. Blyth, of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes fame, was not featured as often, but he did make it count whenever he was. Together, their chemistry was so cute, easy and very believable.

One of the aspects I was most looking forward to seeing come to life was, of course, the depiction of each vacation. From camping in Canada, to getting drunk in New Orleans, to a derailed Norwegian plan and finally to the ill fated trip to Tuscany that changed everything, it was so fun to embark on these adventures with Poppy and Alex. I absolutely loved the club scene in New Orleans when Alex woos Poppy with his dance moves, but I think my favorite was Norway (or what should have been Norway).

Another way in which the film excelled was in its comedy. It was genuinely funny. I was laughing out loud on multiple occasions. I don’t remember the book having the same affect, but I’m not complaining. Some of the supporting cast members such as Jameela Jamil, Molly Shannon, Alan Ruck and Lukas Gage helped in this regard. The script was tight, some of the scenes condensed to make them flow better and although they did make some changes from the book, it wasn’t without reasoning.

Overall, People We Meet on Vacation is one of the better romcoms I have seen in awhile. Films of this genre have lately been disregarded; people don’t think they are realistic enough and don’t believe they should be taken seriously. This one was handled with the proper respect and care that was needed to drive home its message. I was left with the biggest smile on my face and my husband even became totally invested too. Now I can’t wait to see more of Emily Henry’s books receive the same treatment.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️.5

A Merry Little Ex-Mas

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Kate (Alicia Silverstone) and Everett (Oliver Hudson) were the perfect couple who had the perfect life. Fast forward many years later, they are now separated and planning on celebrating one last Christmas together with their kids Sienna and Gabe (Emily Hall and Wilder Hudson) before their divorce is final. When Everett invites his new girlfriend Tess (Jameela Jamil) to join in on the festivities, tensions rise and feelings that Kate and Everett long thought were buried begin to resurface.

It’s that time of the year again when Netflix release a slew of holiday themed films to get people into the festive spirit. While they have been kind of awful, I look forward to them anyway. They’re silly and cringey and totally predictable, but they make me happy and that’s all that I really care about.

The cast were enough of a reason for me to check this out. It was hard for me not to think of Cher Horowitz whenever Silverstone was on screen. Her character wasn’t the most likeable, but she was cute and quirky enough that I was able to give her a pass. Hudson’s character was kind of a douche though I guess that was the point. Jamil seemed more like a plot device, but I didn’t mind because she was still iconic. Geoffrey Owens and Derek McGrath starred as Daryl and Mike, Everett’s dads. They were a bright spot for me and provided quite a few laughs. I also loved how they got Melissa Joan Hart to play Kate’s friend April. To have Cher Horowitz and Sabrina Spellman together was a childhood dream come true. Unfortunately, I found Pierson Fode as Chet, a potential new suitor for Kate, and Timothy Innes as Nigel, Sienna’s British boyfriend, so incredibly annoying and they didn’t add anything to the story.

Where the film fell flat for me was that it lacked some emotional depth. There could have been a few flashbacks explaining in more detail while Kate and Everett decided to separate as well as conversations with the people they were closest with to drive those feelings home to the audience. Instead, the focus was more on some comedy which isn’t a bad thing, but that didn’t always feel necessary here.

A Merry Little Ex-Mas was my first Christmas film of the season. My husband and I watched it while we were decorating our tree and it was very fitting. This probably won’t be one of those films that I will remember much of in a week nor will I rush back to revisit it, but I did think it did the trick.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5

Elio

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Pixar’s latest offering follows Elio (Yonas Kibreab), a space fanatic whose life has been upended after the death of his parents. He moves in with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldana), but the two don’t exactly see eye to eye. Elio can’t help but feel like he doesn’t belong and when he’s beamed up to a planet in the sky he’s hopeful that he’s finally found his place.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t overly excited for this film. Maybe that’s because there was little to no marketing for it. This was a pity because it had a lot of things going for it. It may not be one of the best Pixar films ever, but it was still solid.

Let’s start with the voice talents. While I was unfamiliar with Kibreab before, I felt like he perfectly encapsulated the titular character. Elio is someone you want to root for. He feels misunderstood and like he hasn’t found his purpose which is just so relatable. Saldana is similarly just as relatable as aunt Olga; nothing could have prepared her to look after her brother’s son and the fact that she gives up her dreams of becoming an astronaut to do so shows that she cares. In the Communiverse we meet an array of unique characters voiced by the likes of Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil, Matthias Schweighöfer and Shirley Henderson, all of who gave their best to the performances.

The film is filled with some beautiful animation. It’s bursting with rich colors and zany designs. From there it almost seemed like an entirely different story which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – if anything it helped set aside the difference from Earth.

Perfectly blending humor, emotion and action, Elio was an enjoyable enough film for the whole family. Dealing with themes of loss, grief and the desire to belong, it’s unfortunate that not a lot of people seem to know about it. I’m sure the delayed release didn’t do the film any favors and I definitely think it’s still worth checking out.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Love At First Sight

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Based on the novel The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith, the film follows two people who meet by chance, fall in love over the span of a six hour flight, and the lengths they’ll go to to find each other again.

Hadley Sullivan (Haley Lu Richardson) is used to things going wrong in her life so when she misses her flight to London for her father’s wedding, she bites the bullet and gets herself a ticket for the next one out. Oliver Jones (Ben Hardy) is a mysterious British guy who she meets along the way. Sparks immediately fly, but when they’re separated after landing, can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

This rom com screamed cute. I liked how it was different than similar films of the same genre lately. Not only was the chemistry between Richardson and Hardy absolutely adorable, there was substance behind their characters that gave their relationship some extra oomph. Hadley is dealing with abandonment issues after her dad (Rob Delaney) leaves to teach at Oxford, while Oliver is struggling with the imminent loss of his mother (Sally Philips). Each had baggage and instead of keeping it to themselves, they wanted the other to know what was going on.

My favorite part of the whole thing was Jameela Jamil as the narrator. Right from the get go, it was like she was reading the audience a fairytale and as the movie went on, it was so fun to see her pop up in each scene. Acting as a Jiminey Cricket of sorts, she donned the hat of airplane passenger, flight attendant, customs officer, bus driver and bartender to lead Hadley to Oliver and back again. This was a fresh, interesting take that I felt really worked.

Taking place in the vibrant London, I loved attempting to count how many places I could recognize. And thanks to a soundtrack with some really catchy covers, Love At First Sight was an enjoyable enough watch for me. It may not be anything to write home about, but it’s definitely one of the better titles that Netflix has put out lately.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5