Emily Bader

Watch Emily Bader with Tom Blyth in People We Meet on Vacation (2026): they seem to enjoy being together without waiting for the next romantic cue. As Poppy, she helps give the holiday exchanges a friendly ease that makes the attraction readily believable. We warmed to the pair because their pleasure in each other’s company seemed unforced. That is the chief reason to watch Brett Haley’s otherwise thin romance, and a useful place to begin with Bader. She makes us want to spend time with someone the script has scarcely allowed us to know.

Her leading roles have not been confined to romance. The lead role of Margot in Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021) came before Rose in Jennifer Esposito’s crime drama Fresh Kills (2023). The breakthrough was the title role in My Lady Jane (2024), which mixed romance, fantasy and comedy. That series and the move to Poppy have made romantic partnership an important part of her work, though it would be premature to decide that this is all she should do.

The appeal of casting her as energetic, outgoing young women is easy to see. What matters in the film with Blyth is that the energy leaves room for another person: we can believe Poppy enjoys his company. A romance needs that sense of interest in someone else, particularly when the writing has supplied so little substance to the friendship. Bader’s contribution is substantial, even if it cannot make the film more than agreeable.

The limit comes when we try to picture Poppy and Alex away from the trips, with ordinary habits and commitments that might explain their choices. Bader cannot supply a life that has not been written, and this performance gives us too little evidence of how she might handle a more demanding character. We would want to see more before making large claims for her, but there is enough warmth here to make another encounter welcome. Start with the holiday romance for her rapport with Blyth, allowing for a script that leaves both actors doing too much of the work.