There was a time when films knew where they belonged. Summer was for sun-soaked blockbusters and glossy romances. Autumn meant moody dramas and awards contenders. Christmas releases were cosy, predictable and deliberately nostalgic. The season shaped the experience of the film. Now,they exist in permanent state of limbo. And few stories highlight that loss of seasonal identity better than People we meet on vacation.
The movie follows two best friends Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex (Tom Blyth) whose ritual is to meet up every summer and travel to a new destination. Time passes through holidays, through heat and through travel.
Emily Henry’s People we meet on vacation isbuilt entirely around seasons. Specifically, summer. The entire narrative is structured around summers: holidays abroad, fleeting romances, time passing in annual trips and missed moments. The books’ emotional pull comes from weather, place and the specific feeling of being young somewhere unfamiliar. People we meet on vacation is a story that needs a season. So, the idea that the film adaptation dropped straight onto a streaming platform, released whenever suits the algorithm, feels deeply wrong. A story about a seasonal ritual arrived without any sense of occasion, watched in February, half-asleep and under a blanket. A summer film with no summer.
Romantic comedies used to be especially tied to a time of year. Spring and summer releases dominated, designed to match the tone of the season. Now they appear whenever there’s a free weekend on the release calendar.
Take Anyone but you with its beach setting, bright cinematography and holiday party chaos, it looks like a textbook summer rom-com. Instead, it arrived in December, positioned as an alternative to Christmas films. The decision felt misplaces, going to the cinema to watch a summer rom com dressed in heavy winter clothing. Ticket to paradise followed a similar pattern: a tropical, sun-drenched comedy released in September. These films are still made with seasonal aesthetics. They’re just no longer released with seasonal intention.
Streaming platforms have changed how films are scheduled and consumed. Instead of building anticipation around a particular time of year, platforms prioritise constant availability. A film is successful is people click on it, not if it lands at the perfect cultural moment. Everything exists at once, available on demand, competing for attention in the same digital space.
When People we meet on vacation appeared, it was consumed quickly and casually. It perfectly captures what modern cinema has lost. Film used to feel tied to seasons, particular moods and particular points in the year but now everything is available all the time and therefore rarely feels like an occasion. As a result, cinema’s traditional seasonal structure has weakened. Summer blockbuster still exist and December remains crowded with Christmas releases, but mid-budget genres increasingly operate outside these boundaries. Films built around specific times of year are now routinely released without regard to them.
