Nov 1965. North London. Bernie Reubens (Gregg Sulkin), a young Hebrew boy, is about to have his bat Mitzvah. He lives with mother Esther (Helena Bonham Carter) and Father Immanuel "Manny" Reubens (Eddie Marsan). Manny has an OCD about house cleanliness and has put plastic sheets over everything in the house, which they remove, every time someone visits their house. Jimmy (Peter Serafinowicz) is Manny's brother, and completely overshadows him. Manny runs a grocery store in the local area, but Jimmy is the popular one and he cracks jokes with all the customers. Manny was only ever good at dancing and met Esther in a dance hall where they danced all night. Esther committed to Manny then and there. Bernie is picked on by bullies at school. His brother Alvie picks on him at home. One time the family failed to notice that they left Bernie behind when they were returning from a vacation.Initially, Bernie meticulously plans a lavish reception to upstage that of his older brother Alvie (Ben Newton). The bash includes an elaborate seating arrangement, an acceptance speech, gifts, dances and merriment for all attendees. He even sends a letter to Frankie Vaughan, requesting him to perform his songs on the night, at the Henshaw hotel. Custom designed cocktails & a formal dinner for 250 guests. As the family's finances lurch from one disaster to another (A supermarket opens right next door to their grocery store and undercuts them on prices). Manny refuses to sell his business to the supermarket and counts on the loyalty of his customers. The customers switch to the supermarket in a heartbeat. Bernie is diagnosed with Asthma. He is treated by Dr. Barrie (Stephen Rea). Manny was checking out the competition and misses his son's Bat Mitzvah class. Bernie is humiliated.the family is forced to lower Bernie's expectations. Manny tells Bernie at first that they will need to hire a smaller room at the hotel for the party and not have too many guests. The rabbi explains to Bernie that in a smaller room, the event will be more exclusive, and Bernie will be the center of attention. Bernie finds out that the day of his Bat Mitzvah is also the date of the world cup final. His only hope is that England does not qualify for the final. Manny decides to sell his grocery store and buy a shoe shop instead. In the opening match Eng draws with Uruguay 0-0. Manny decides to sell the grocery store to the supermarket, but the manager wants to see their tax files for the last 5 years. This is an issue since Manny has never declared his full income from the store and has saved tax in the process. But now, this will lower the sale value of his business. Manny and Esther are forced to move the Bat Mitzvah to the local community center. Jimmy buys the shoe shop and Manny is forced to go to work for him. England beat Mexico to stay alive.One day Bernie visits Dr Barrie at his home and doesn't find anyone there. He goes into his bedroom and hides in the cupboard when he hears voices from downstairs. From there he witnesses Dr Barrie's wife cheating on him with another man. Manny and family were out for dinner with Jimmy, when England beats France 2-0. Manny's house burns down in the celebrations when a rocket fires into their house from outside. All of Manny's life savings (that he saved in cash to avoid paying taxes) and burnt to ashes. In his rage Manny accuses Esther of having an affair with Jimmy. He later cools down and regrets his action. Bernie is told that the Bat Mitzvah will now be held at the house only.England beat Portugal in the Semi-finals, against all odds. Bernie is devastated. When England reaches the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final, held on the same day, most of the guests make excuses not to come to the reception so that they can watch the game. Even the caterer cancels, and Aunt Lila (Catherine Tate) has to bake the cake, which looks pathetic. Manny wanted to leave his home and writes a letter to Jimmy saying that he cant work for him anymore. But on his way to the station, he finds that Jimmy was injured while changing the sign of his shop to "Jimmy & Manny's shoes". Manny is speechless and decides to stay.On the big day, some guests turn up. Bernie himself goes missing and Manny and Esther look for him. In the basement, they find all the prep that Bernie had done for his big day and realize everything he had compromised on. They find the video of Alvie's Bat Mitzvah and realize what has been bugging Bernie all along. In the end, Bernie's father saves the day by driving Bernie to Wembley Stadium to witness the end of the match between England and West Germany. W Germany score a late goal during injury time to force the match into extra time. But England bounce back with 2 goals to win the match 4-2.