Audio problem: During the Christmas concert at the end, Sam's drumming doesn't match the music in some shots. (01:52:10)
Revealing mistake: In the big scene at the children's show when David and Natalie are revealed kissing behind the curtain, many members of the audience are shown snapping picture after picture. One of the guys who is snapping away very rapidly has a "throw-away" one-time use camera. All one-time use cameras have wind wheels, meaning you can't take photos that quickly. (01:54:15)
Continuity mistake: After the airline employee does not allow Sam through to the gate the jewellery salesman loads his bag, coat and gloves into the arms of the employee which gives Sammy a chance to run for it. The position of all his belongings in the arms of the airline employee changes between shots. (01:59:45)
Continuity mistake: When Sam sneaks past the airline employee in the first shot the jewellery salesman unloads the employee's arms and tosses his coat over his left arm, then puts his gloves into his left hand and takes his luggage with his right hand. However, in the next shot the gloves have vanished. (01:59:55)
Factual error: When the little boy Sam is running through Heathrow airport to say goodbye to Joanna, he is in terminal 1. Virgin Atlantic flights only depart Heathrow from terminal 3. (02:00:15)
Continuity mistake: At the end of the film in the airport, Colin returns with Harriet. They meet Tony there, and you can see Harriet's sister Carla come round the corridor. Then Harriet turns to introduce Carla, and you can see her blonde hair and arm come onto the screen. But in the next shot, it shows Carla walking towards them, much much further away from where she just was. (02:03:00)
Continuity mistake: During the final scenes in the airport, as Juliet and Peter run toward Jamie and Aurelia, in the first shot passing on Juliet's right is a bearded man in a suit jacket. In the next shot as Juliet kisses Aurelia the same man just walks through the doorway and starts to pass Juliet. Then in the next shot he enters once again walking behind Jamie. There are others in the terminal whose positions also differ in consecutive shots. (02:06:40)
Continuity mistake: When Jamie and Aurelia meet up with Juliet, Peter and Mark at the airport terminal, Mark's coat collar jumps back and forth between being up in the back or lying entirely flat depending on the angle of the shot. (02:06:50)
Factual error: The place where Jamie is writing his novel is revealed to be Marseilles, France, when he flies back to propose. In the first part of their story, it might have been Portugal; his housekeeper spoke French, which is a common second language in that country; and Aurelia only spoke Portuguese. Yet in the entire second part, no-one speaks any French at all; only Portuguese and a few words of English. Sure enough there are many Portuguese families living in France; but they do not have their own linguistic enclave in Marseilles, and any generation growing up there would have learnt French as well. Either the language or the airport name are wrong.
Continuity mistake: After one of the interruptions (phone calls from her ill brother), Sarah and Karl sit on adjoining sides of her bed. In the wide shot of the two of them (closer to and facing Sarah), we can see Karl's hands are pressed together as if in prayer. However, in the following, slightly overhead shot, Karl is sitting with his hands in a different position.
Other mistake: Considering how long the Prime Minister's car is parked outside in front of the only road into the school, where there is to be the school Christmas concert, it's surprising how many cars are still trying to find a parking space. Also, you can see that no cars are driving when Natalie gets out of the Prime Minister's car.
Visible crew/equipment: When Sam is running through the airport to catch up with Joanna, there is a long shot of him running towards the gate before he jumps over the guard at the security gates. In this shot there's a very clear glimpse of the spring board he uses for the jump.
Character mistake: When recording the soundtrack at the beginning of the movie, in the first take Billy Mack sings the first line of the verse but there is no vocal back up, but when he sings the second line, "I feel it in my toes," the backup singers repeat the second line. After messing up, in the next two tries, when Billy sings the first line, "I feel it in my fingers," the backup singers DO repeat this line this time. With each run through the three part harmony should sing the very same line each take, but they didn't.
Audio problem: During the wedding scene with the choir reveal, various people enter with musical instruments. When the saxophones are playing that they sound like trumpets.
Factual error: When the President of the United States arrives at 10 Downing Street, his car has Washington State license plates.
Factual error: I know it's a romantic comedy, but no way could an eleven-year-old outrun airport security, find his way around an airport without getting lost or caught and be returned to his dad without even a telling off.
Factual error: Daniel and Sam are prevented access to the gate area by a security guard at Heathrow who is sitting at a desk and yet when Joanna comes back through to kiss Sam, the guard station is unmanned. This position would always be guarded.
Continuity mistake: When Jaime is in the lake helping Aurelia retrieve the book pages, in one shot a page is quite close behind his head and in the subsequent shot the page is at least a foot or two away.
Factual error: In the scene where Natalie goes to see the Prime Minister in his office, she is holding a buff coloured folder marked: 'SECRET - TREASURY DEPARTMENT'. However, folders within Government/Ministry of Defence etc are colour coded as follows: Red or Pink for Secret, Green for Confidential and Buff for Restricted & Unclassified for the obvious reason of ease of identification and security.
Continuity mistake: Toward the end of the film when Sam reaches the gate from which Joanna and her mother are departing, he looks down to see them in the boarding line with several people behind them. When he races down to say goodbye, Joanna is last in line.
Answer: It's because of the complications that Sarah was having with her troubled brother. Apart from that, who's to say they don't eventually get together?
Hamster ★
In the follow-up short film (the Red Nose Day special) we learn she eventually gets her happy ending with a man played by Patrick Dempsey.