The Ref

I enjoyed the Ref immensely. It is an off-beat change of pace from most Christmas feel-good movies, yet it still comes together in the end. Denis Leary is very convincing as the successful cat burglar caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Christine Baransky plays a delightfully deranged sister in law who is more interested in money and appearances than in family or Christmas. Kevin Spacey proves that he can play any part from milk toast nagged husband to serial killer.

One caution, though- if you are offended by cursing, then this movie is not for you. There is a great deal of cursing in it. If you've seen any of Denis Leary's stand-up, then you know what to expect, but if you want a Christmas movie to watch with the kids, go find A Christmas Story, Eloise at Christmastime or It's a Wonderful Life. Anything but this one!

Brief storyline of the film, the plot idea is relatively simple; Denis Leary plays Gus a professional burglar who after a foiled robbery seeks to make good his escape by taking married couple Lloyd and Caroline Chasseur hostage. Lloyd (played by Kevin Spacey) and Caroline (played by Judy Davis) are however going through something of a marriage crisis and poor old Gus ends up playing referee between the two warring factions of this married couple. Add in a delinquent son, a mother-in-law of humongous bitchy proportions and a drunken Santa Claus and let the mayhem begin! I have to say that the interplay between Learn, Spacey and Davis is simply fantastic with the machinegun like dialogue whizzing back and forth between them, my favourite quote from the film is Leary's character and he said "From now on, the only person who gets to yell is me. Why? Because I have a gun. People with guns get to do whatever they want. Married people without guns - for instance - you - DO NOT get to yell. Why? NO GUNS! No guns, no yelling. See? Simple little equation." The black humour of the film is just brilliant and it's actually what you would expect from Kevin Spacey and Denis Leary film with past films like "Swimming with Sharks" With likewise the stingingly cruel comments from the mother-in-law from hell are a real hoot, as is the bumbling capers of the town's less than competent police force. What makes the film work on another level though is that the arguments and disagreements that have the family at each other's throats are not contrived or unbelievable. Both husband and wife put forward extremely credible points of view that I'm sure having cropped up in the minds of most viewers. This gives the film a lovely poignancy and all that more enjoyable.

Overall, I found this a very funny movie. Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey bounce off each other hilariously, and I found Denis Leary's character just brilliant (and is now one of my favourite comedian) The script is original, the humour is dry, sarcastic and 'laugh out loud' good for a black-comedy so Great stuff!

With today being Christmas (Happy Ho Ho everyone!), it was that time of year when I dust off this classic film and sit down with a glass of eggnog. Every year, I enjoy this fine film more and more. Simply marvelous! Denis Leary is hilarious, and so is Kevin Spacey. If you have not seen this Holiday classic, do yourself a favour and go out and rent it.

Leary plays Gus, a cat burglar, who on Christmas Eve finds himself on the run from local authorities after robbing a very posh home. Gus takes Caroline and Lloyd hostage (played marvelously by Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis) and forces them to bring them to their home to hide out. However, unbeknown to Gus, this is the most dysfunctional family he will ever meet. And so the madness begins.

Great film for adults, however, you may want to keep your children out of the room and out of earshot, as their is some substantial language and adult humour in this movie. However, if you like adult humour, you will definately love The Ref.

A must have for any collection.

Denis Leary plays Gus, a cat burglar who's foiled in the opening minutes of the movie by a rich mans' alarm / booby trap. Now on the lam, he decides to take a hostage. Unfortunately, his choice of Caroline (Judy Davis) is not a good one, as she and her husband Lloyd (Kevin Spacey) are going through a VERY rough patch, and can never stop sniping at each other for very long. Things aren't going to get any better, and Gus is forced to spend an untenable Christmas Eve pretending to be their marriage counselor and having to deal with Lloyds' dysfunctional family.

"The Ref" would be an excellent Christmas time viewing choice for people who want to dispense with excess sentiment and more family friendly material. It has an extremely profane script (by Richard LaGravenese and Marie Weiss, based on Weiss's story), delivered to perfection by an incredibly well cast bunch of actors. The dialogue and situations are commanding enough that the time just flies by. The not terribly attractive bunch of characters includes Lloyds' rich & bitchy mother Rose (Glynis Johns), his weakling brother Gary (Adam LeFevre), Gary's abrasive wife Connie (Christine Baranski), and Lloyd and Carolines' troubled son Jesse (Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.), a student at a military school.

One can't help but sympathize with Gus to some degree; who would actually desire to spend time with this family? Still, even after all the fighting and yelling, we see truths come out and characters becoming more honest with themselves and others. The subplot with the incompetent, moronic officers on the local police force is rather silly. None of the scenes that don't involve the family are as interesting.

Leary is ideal for the lead, but it's Spacey and especially Davis who truly shine. Then again, everyone does a fine job. There are a number of recognizable actors throughout the supporting cast; in addition to Johns, LeFevre, and Baranski, there's Raymond J. Barry, Richard Bright, Bill Raymond, Robert Ridgely, J.K. Simmons, John Benjamin Hickey, Arthur J. Nascarella, and Vincent Pastore. Brights' widow, actress Rutanya Alda, has a brief cameo. Simmons plays a slimeball character named Siskel, so named because LaGravenese was getting a little revenge on film critic Siskel, who'd previously dismissed "The Fisher King" that LaGravenese had written. B.D. Wong appears unbilled.

Good fun, with a particularly satisfying wrap-up.

Eight out of 10.

Have you noticed? Lloyd, Kevin Spacey's character in "The Ref" is closely related to Lester, Kevin Spacey's character in "American Beauty" if you see both movies, back to back, you'll notice the astonishing similarities between the two. Twins? Maybe. If they are, or were, poor Lester, a lot of things will become immediately clear. To start with, he had Glynis Johns for a mother. Miss Jones creates such a frighteningly funny portrait of a castrating mother that Lester's emasculation is perfectly explained. Not to mention their choice of spouses, time bombs Judi Davis and Annette Bening This little piece of trivia will add, to the considerable pleasures of this delightful and underrated Ted Demme's dark fairy tale. The opening at the marriage counselor's office is just superb, I can see it endlessly, it never fails to make me laugh. Kevin Spacey and Judi Davis are a couple part Edward Albee part Terence Rattigan. They are priceless. Dennis Leary's energy is contagious and relentless. His best part to date. The clunky sub plot involving their son and, what it appears, like a hurried ending, doesn't spoil the fun. The writing by the brilliant Richard LaGravenesse and Marie Weiss is pure joy. Ideal to see with a bunch of friends.