Review of The Ref (1994) by Jeff G — 10 Sep 2008

This film is a pleasant surprise. It is finally a match for Leary to create a character with his type of insight and humor into everyday life yet shocking since it wasnâ??t actually written by him.

This is a cynical dark humored holiday movie a perfect anti-dote to all those other holiday movies that spread syrupy cheer even during the worst of times this film has a heart but it beats very slowly and the color is not red itâ??s black. Like most home for the holiday films each character has a secret or quirk that manages to come out to the forefront while the other characters react.

This movie is funny and smart which is rare in modern cinema especially when the film is marketed as a mainstream fare. I think this movieâ??s marketing are what kept it from being a hit it felt like the studio who put it out got cold feet about it towards the end and just dumped it or tried to market it as a film it wasnâ??t. While the film does have a â??The man Who Came To Dinnerâ?? feel it is far from that. I really enjoyed the whole cast here who work well as a ensemble Kevin Spaceyâ??s career took off after this film but surprisingly the person who made me want to watch this most was Judy Davis who I have always enjoyed as a performer ever since seeing her in woody Allenâ??s â??Husbands & Wivesâ?? I always felt she was robbed for the oscar from that movie. This movie actually made me a fan of Denis Leary it made me seek out more of his work and stand-up comedy.

The film about a burglar who breaks into a rich divorcing coupleâ??s hose on Christmas eve and everytime he tries to escape more people come over blocking him from escaping and he has to pretend to be there marriage counsler. The plot sounds lame but this film is so much more it could almost be a play with itâ??s great dialogue and down trodden story. It really is a fun movie certainly not family entertainment.

You can imagine how this film must be when the leads are unlikeable but compared to the rest of the characters become the most likeable characters.

Itâ??s sad that the director of this film Ted Demme had such a short directing career as I feel this was his masterpiece. It would have been interesting to see if he could have topped this in material and follow through.

The original ending was that Denis Leary after being questioned by cops goes to jail to show the son of the couplethat a life of crime doesnâ??t pay but then ends up on the Montel Williams show plugging his book about the experience it was shot but scrapped but I am glad they got rid of that ending as it would have cheapened the movie as a aristocratic dark comedy and just have a cheap joke ending that comes out of nowhere. While making it like other holiday films with a uplifting happy ending. In the commercial promos and trailers you can see some of these interrogation scenes. The way it ends now it kind of shows life doesnâ??t pay itâ??s not the happiest life but itâ??s the only one he has.

This is a definite must see if you can buy it you wont be disappointed.