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The Ref
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Wikipedia article
'The Ref' ('Hostile Hostages' in some countries) is a 1994 American black comedy film directed by Ted Demme, starring Denis Leary, Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey.
Plot
In a charming Connecticut village, Lloyd and Caroline Chasseur are in marriage counseling on Christmas Eve; the session does not go well. Caroline has had an affair, and Lloyd is miserable and blames the problems with their son, Jesse, on his wife. The marriage counselor, Dr. Wong, tries to get them to open up, but refuses to intercede on either side.
Meanwhile, a criminal named Gus is in the midst of burgling a home. However his getaway car, driven by his bumbling partner Murray, is gone. He runs into Lloyd and Caroline, holds a gun on them and orders the couple to drive him to their house. Along the way Caroline and Lloyd continue to argue, with Gus acting as referee.
Cast
Production
Richard LaGravenese co-wrote the film with his sister-in-law Marie Weiss. It was inspired by their families. For example, the dinner scene: "Both Marie and I are Italian Catholics who married into Jewish families, so we do have those big holiday dinners," LaGravenese said. Weiss began writing the script in 1989 after she and her husband moved from New York to California. Inspiration came from an argument she had with him and she thought, "Wouldn't it be great if there were a third party to step in and referee?" She wrote several drafts and consulted with LaGravenese in 1991 and they took it to Disney. The studio approved the project within 20 minutes. LaGravenese spent a year revising the script until he finally got "tired of doing rewrites for executives."
After Ted Demme directed comedian Denis Leary in 'No Cure for Cancer', a stand-up comedy special for Showtime, they got the script for 'The Ref' and decided to do it. The studio cast Leary based on the sarcastic funny-man persona he cultivated in MTV spots that Demme directed. Leary joined the project as part of a three-picture deal with Disney. Their involvement motivated LaGravenese to come back to the project. Executive producer Don Simpson described the overall tone of 'The Ref' as "biting and sarcastic. Just my nature."
After test audiences responded poorly to the film's original endingGus turned himself in to show Jesse that a life of crime leads nowhere quicklya new ending was shot in January 1994.
Reception
'The Ref' did not perform as well at the box office as Leary would have liked, and he blamed the studio's method of marketing it: "They did me like the MTV guy. And they shortchanged what the movie was all about." The film grossed a total of only $11,439,193 at the domestic box office, after coming in at #4 opening weekend, behind 'Guarding Tess', 'Lightning Jack' and 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'. Leary made fun of himself in a humorous article written for a 1994 issue of 'Playboy' where he pretends to interview Pope John Paul II: Leary asks the Pope if he has seen 'The Ref', and the Pope responds that he was told it was very vulgar, as evident by its unpopularity.
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a "Certified Fresh" approval rating of 73% based on reviews from 55 critics, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The site's consensus is: "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."
Roger Ebert gave it three out of four stars. He wrote, "Material like this is only as good as the acting and writing. 'The Ref' is skillful in both areas." 'Rolling Stone' magazine's Peter Travers praised the performances of Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis: "They are combustibly funny, finding nuance even in nonsense. The script is crass; the actors never." In her review for 'The New York Times', Caryn James praised Leary's performance: "For the first time he displays his appeal and potential as an actor instead of a comic with a sneering persona." Glenn Kenny of 'Entertainment Weekly' gave it a grade A.
'Entertainment Weekly' gave the film a "C" rating, and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "'The Ref' is crushingly blunt-witted and monotonous in its celebration of domestic sadism." In his review for 'The Washington Post', Hal Hinson criticized Leary's performance: "A stand-up comic trying to translate his impatient, hipster editorializing to the big screen, he doesn't have the modulation of a trained actor, only one speed (fast) and one mode of attack (loud)."
The film was among 500 nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list.
Year-end lists
* Top 10 (not ranked) Betsy Pickle, 'Knoxville News-Sentinel'
* Best "sleepers" (not ranked) Dennis King, 'Tulsa World'
* "The second 10" (not ranked) Sean P. Means, 'The Salt Lake Tribune'
* Dishonorable mention William Arnold, 'Seattle Post-Intelligencer'
* Dishonorable mention Dan Craft, 'The Pantagraph'
See also
* List of Christmas films
References
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