Average Rating: 6.5/10
Reviews Counted: 42
Fresh: 32 | Rotten: 10
Undeniably uneven and too dark for some, The Ref nonetheless boasts strong turns from Denis Leary, Judy Davis, and Kevin Spacey, as well as a sharply funny script.
Average Rating: 5.4/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 5
Undeniably uneven and too dark for some, The Ref nonetheless boasts strong turns from Denis Leary, Judy Davis, and Kevin Spacey, as well as a sharply funny script.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 25,371
Caroline and Lloyd (Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey) are a married couple constantly at each other's throats, masters at crafting acid-tongued barbs at the other's expense. Indeed, they are so obsessed with belittling each other that they never stop -- not even at gunpoint. Such is the premise of the acerbic comedy The Ref, which shows what happens when this quarrelsome duo is taken hostage. The gunman is Gus (Denis Leary), a thief on the run from the police, who kidnaps the couple as an insurance
Mar 9, 1994 Wide
Mar 4, 2003
Buena Vista Internationa
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (10) | DVD (6)
What makes most of this work is the brio of the acting, though the direction by Ted Demme and the script by Richard LaGravenese and Marie Weiss certainly don't hurt.
Staying clear of any mean-spirited attitudes, The Ref is a film to warm the hearts and touch the nerves of dysfunctional families everywhere.
Demme brings out the comic ease in Leary.
This is one holiday party you'll want to miss.
Material like this is only as good as the acting and writing. The Ref is skillful in both areas.
The Ref is one of those rare movies that seem to have everything going for it -- a promising director, terrific actors and an original, unapologetically grown-up script -- yet somehow still turns out to be a phenomenal drag.
It's cynical, mean-spirited and, at least at first, viciously funny.
In his first starring role, comedian Leary makes his ranting career criminal strangely sympathetic.
[Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey] play this strident high comedy duet with a self-sustaining brio that easily puts them on the level of the stars of Twentieth Century, The Awful Truth, The Philadelphia Story, and His Girl Friday.
Dennis Leary's shining hour. His stand-up persona's greatest moment and it was all down hill from there.
Every holiday movie strives to become a timeless classic. The Ref succeeds.
One of the most underrated comedies of the 1990s
Just because The Ref isn't your typical Christmas movie doesn't mean you should skip it. In fact, it should be just the opposite.
Better in hindsight than it first appeared. Leary truly rises to the challenge of acting opposite Davis and Spacey.
This is a smart witty film- Leary is fantastic, Spacey a blast and Davis brilliant!
A smartly crafted holiday comedy film that focuses on a cat burglar who takes a dysfunctional family hostage. The Ref is a smart, funny comedy with a great cast. Denis Leary is perfect in his role, and Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey have great chemistry as the dysfunctional couple. Though the humor slows down a bit, the
November 15, 2011
Super Reviewer
"The Ref" is one of my favorite Christmas movies, it stars Denis Leary as a cat burglar who unwittingly takes bickering couple Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis hostage and ultimately ends up having to meet with the entire, annoying family for Christmas dinner.As the feuding spouses, Spacey and Davis are perfect. They have a
December 16, 2010Super Reviewer
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