Summary
Colin goes to Tony's house to stay the night while he rents his apartment to fund his trip to America. He tells Tony that his bag is filled with condoms.
We see Judy and John standing in for a scene, with Judy simulating oral sex on John. He invites her to get a Christmas drink, as she simulates fellatio, and she agrees.
Harry arrives home late from work and Karen notices that there is a necklace in his pocket as she hangs up his coat. She looks delighted by it when she sees it, imagining that it must be for her. When they go in the living room, Karen and Harry's daughter shows off her lobster costume for the nativity play.
We then see Jamie in a language class, learning Portuguese. Humorously enough, most of the sentences that he practices have to do with seafood.
A little later, Karen notices Harry's gift for her under the tree and smiles to herself.
Tony drops Colin off at the airport and he flies to Wisconsin. There, he visits a bar and orders a Budweiser. A beautiful woman at the bar immediately notices that Colin is British and introduces herself. She calls over her friend, another beautiful woman. Their other friend arrives, yet another beautiful woman who happens to love English guys. They all order drinks and laugh at how cute it is that Colin pronounces words differently. When Colin says he is going to stay at a motel, one of the girls invites him to come stay at their place. The girls talk about how they only have one little bed that they will all have to share, and that they sleep naked. Finally, they tell Colin that there's another girl, Harriet, who is technically "the sexy one."
Karen and Harry open presents with their children. Karen pulls out Harry's present for her, which he tells her is a special, personal one. She beams at him and says, "That's a real first," before opening it. When she unwraps it, it's a Joni Mitchell CD. She excuses herself for a moment, clearly disappointed, as Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" plays.
We see Mia putting the necklace on at home, as Karen looks at photographs of her and Harry and their children, weeping. She wipes her tears and goes back into the living room, rallying her family to have fun.
Daniel and Harry talk about Sam's crush, with Sam saying that "people only get together right at the very end."
On Christmas Eve, Billy Mack's song reaches number 1. On the phone with a radio interviewer, Billy says he will either get drunk with his "fat manager" like a "real rock and roll loser" or else he will get invited to a lot of parties. Billy then receives a call from Elton John, who invites him to a party.
We see John walking Judy home from their date. At her door, he hesitates and she kisses him. "All I want for Christmas is you," she says.
Jamie goes to his family's house for Christmas, but as soon as he arrives, he realizes he has to go see Aurelia, and leaves. His nieces and nephews yell, "I hate uncle Jamie!"
Meanwhile, Sarah sits at her desk at her office. As Karl leaves, he wishes her a merry Christmas. When she is left alone, she weeps and calls her brother, before going to spend Christmas with him.
We see Juliet and Peter at home, when the doorbell rings. Juliet goes to visit and finds Mark there. When Peter asks who is at the door, Mark holds up a sign that says, "Say it's carol singers," which Juliet does. He turns on a boombox of caroling, and then holds up a series of signs. They say, "With any luck, by next year, I'll be going out with one of these girls," before holding up a picture of some models. They continue: "But for now, let me say, without hope or agenda, just because it's Christmas (and at Christmas you tell the truth), to me you are perfect, and my wasted heart will love you until you look like this," before holding up a picture of a dead person. Juliet laughs, and as Mark walks away, she runs into the street and kisses him, before going into the house. "Enough now," Mark says to himself.
Billy goes to his manager Joe's house. He tells him that at Elton John's house he had an epiphany, that Christmas is a time to be with the people one loves. "As much as it grieves me to say it, it may in fact be that the people I love is, in fact, you," he says to Joe, adding, "It's a terrible, terrible mistake, Chubs, but you turn out to be the fucking love of my life, and to be honest, in spite of my complaining, we have had a wonderful life." The two men hug and Billy says, "Let's get pissed and watch porn."
David looks through his mail, when he comes across a letter from Natalie, which says that the moment with the New York president was strange and that she has feelings for him. David calls for a car and runs to go find Natalie. He goes door to door in Natalie's neighborhood, looking for Natalie, since he doesn't know her address. One door that he knocks on is Mia's, and she tells him that Natalie lives next door.
Natalie's family opens the door and Natalie says hello to David, introducing him to her family and telling him that they are late to the school Christmas concert. Natalie's mother says she made an octopus costume for their child, and David offers to give everyone a ride to the concert. In the car, the boy in the octopus costume sits between David and Natalie. David thanks Natalie for the Christmas card and she explains that she felt embarrassed about the day with the American president. She invites him to the concert, and when he declines, asks him to give her just a moment.
Analysis
In spite of all the darkness and disappointment that has reared its head in the film, there is still a great deal of good humor contained in the plot. Colin, the whacky caterer, is intent on heading to America to bed as many American girls as he can. Meanwhile, Jamie learns Portuguese in hopes of wooing Aurelia, but all the sentences he learns have to do with seafood for some reason. Writer Richard Curtis infuses his story with lighthearted humor and absurdity, even when things seem bleak or hopeless.
Colin's storyline, in which he travels to America to bed beautiful American girls, is a particularly humorous one, in that his absurd fantasies come completely true. As soon as he sets foot in a rural bar in Wisconsin, he meets three gorgeous women who are instantly charmed by his accent and invite him to spend the night with them in their small bed, where they always sleep naked. Colin, a rather funny-looking young man who seems to have absolutely no power over women in England, suddenly finds himself in a complete sexual fantasy, and all just because he is British.
This particularly comedic moment is followed by one of the more heartbreaking ones. While opening presents under the tree, Karen pulls what she thinks is the beautiful necklace she found in Harry's pocket out from under it, but when she opens the box, finds that it is a CD. This suggests that Harry gave the necklace to someone else. Not only must Karen face her own disappointment at realizing that Harry did not get her a special romantic gift, she also must come to grips with the realization that he is having an affair.
In addition to looking at explicitly romantic relationships, the film also looks at loving relationships that are more complicated. Mark visits Peter and Juliet's house and professes his love for Juliet, but without asking that the feeling be returned. He suggests that Christmas is a time to tell the truth, and he just wants to tell Juliet that he loves her. Juliet accepts his confession gracefully and even gives him a kiss, even though the two of them know that it is not going to lead anywhere. Then, Billy leaves a celebrity party to spend the evening with his manager Joe, saying that Christmas is a time to be with the people one loves. He and Joe are not in a romantic relationship, but they share a deep love for one another. The film explores the ways that love is a part of everyone's lives even when it is not romantic or sexual.
The film builds to many of the characters attending the school Christmas concert, where all of the schools have joined together for one big show. Attendees include Karen and Harry, John and Judy, and even Natalie and the prime minister. When David goes in search of Natalie, he manages to catch her just as she and her family are leaving their house to go to the concert. In a humorously awkward sequence, David ends up offering Natalie's entire family a ride to the concert. Towards the end of the film, the different storylines begin to converge even more, and reach their climaxes.
